Signal
by lunaryu
Summary: There's a reason why Kagami was sent back home to Japan. Akashi pulled some strings? Or was it his family? Why does Furihata get involved in this craziness? Will Akashi give his blessing to all the GoM members' new 'partners? This is the conclusion. Akashi's 'eyes' are there for a very important reason, not just for basketball. -Nine Shots- AkaFuri,KaKu,AoKi,MiTa,MuHi Epilog UP!
1. Part 1

**Signal**

**Fandom:** Kuroko no Basuke

**Rating:** Pg-15/T

**Genre:** Drama/Family/Romance (no humor this time, sorry! _)

**Pairing:** Akashi/Furihata—main, Kagami/Kuroko, Aomine/Kise, Midorima/Takao, Murasakibara/Himuro

**Summary:** _There's a reason why Kagami was sent back home to Japan. Akashi pulled some strings? Or was it his family? Why does Furihata get involved in this craziness? Will Akashi give his blessing to all the GoM members' new 'partners'? This is the conclusion. Akashi's 'eyes' are there for a very important reason, not just for basketball._

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**Disclaimer: Tadatoshi Fujimaki owns Kuroko no Basuke and its characters. Luna only plays with them to have fun. No profit is made from this fan fiction.**

**Warning:** _completely AU (because I don't know Akashi's BG outside what's written in the manga, obviously), Akashi (yes, because he's that dangerous), shounen ai/yaoi, language, slight oOC-ness (I hope not much… still shuddering that I have to write about Akashi at all *sighs*), etc…_

**Beta: ****tora-chan83.** Thank you very much for your help! I owe you, dear!

**A/N:** I was freaking out after reading the manga chapter 178-179. Akashi is just… *shivers*. He's so crazily cool and scary! Dear god, those eyes… My poor heart wouldn't stop thumping like crazy seeing what Akashi is capable of with those eyes…! *still shuddering in fear and excitement*

Ahem, anyway *shakes head* I'm trying not to make Akashi oOC here, but don't expect much because his character is really my weakness (seriously! It's like writing Izaya all over again and he turned out rather ridiculous! T_T). Oh, and you read the pairing right. It's Akashi/Furihata. Don't ask why. Just read, you'll understand later… I hope *looks another way*.

Now, please enjoy this new installment of the**_ 'Finding GoM Matching Partners'_** series!

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**Signal**

_**Part 1**_

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_This… this is insanity!_—was the thought that fleeted through Furihata Kouki's mind as he was running.

Yes, Furihata Kouki, Seirin High, Class 1-D, member of Seirin basketball club, was running away.

From what, you ask? Furihata himself didn't know. All he knew was that Kagami suddenly entrusted him to run with a guy behind him, a certain red haired teen whose hand he had been holding and pulling because his eyes were unable to see (according to Kagami and Furihata didn't even have a chance to ask why).

_No, this is disaster!_—Furihata knew that he was panicking. But who could blame him? After all, the one that he was pulling while running was actually…

_The devil incarnation… Akashi Seijuurou._

Furihata shuddered as he remembered how he met the super scary guy at the opening of Winter Cup. He remembered how those heterochromatic eyes looked down at him with an icy glare. He recalled the horror he felt when the GoM's Captain tried to stab Kagami's eye with a pair of scissors just because he refused to back down. He _couldn't forget_ how he was constantly shivering from sheer fright by only being in the redhead's vicinity.

So then… what the hell was Furihata doing, running away from –who knows what- while pulling Akashi –the psycho-'s hand- to run with him? Was he insane? That must have been it. He had turned crazy for actually going along with this madness.

Furihata was very confused and perplexed at this turn of event. He didn't know why his ordinary, peaceful day had turned into this absurd, chaotic situation.

This… this turn of event must have had something to do with the oddity that had been happening just after the Winter break started a week prior…

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**~Akashi x Furihata~**

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Let's rewind to the time in the morning after Himuro got together with Murasakibara…

_**Kagami and Kuroko's situation—**_

Kuroko woke up slowly at the feel of a cold breeze on his face. He blinked slightly as he looked outside the window glass which was just slightly opened. It was white and snowy. No wonder it was so cold. He tried to sit up because he wanted to close the window, but it was kind of hard to move when someone else's hand was draped over his waist.

Kuroko turned slightly to face the still innocently sleeping Kagami beside him. He gave the redhead a small smile at the possessive way he was holding Kuroko, even in his sleep. Kuroko turned to eye the window once again before he shrugged and scooted closer to Kagami, cuddling the larger male to get some warmth from Kagami's high body temperature.

Kuroko sighed comfortably as he closed his eyes once again. It was Sunday anyway. He didn't need to wake up so soon, especially after such exciting, yet exhausting activities last night.

Kuroko was about to fall asleep again when he heard Kagami sneeze. Apparently letting the window open when it was snowing wasn't such a good idea. Kuroko opened his eyes again to meet Kagami's bleary unfocused one.

"Hnn… cold," Kagami shivered lightly while grunting and sniffing. He blinked several times after that to focus his sight at the pale, dull eyes that were staring into his own crimson ones. "Oh, you've woken up, Kuroko?" He then proceeded to sit up, and shivered once again. "Damn it, why is it so cold?" He hugged himself now, his teeth chattering.

"The window is slightly open," Kuroko also sat up, pulling the blanket to cover his naked body while pointing at the window to show Kagami the problem.

Kagami blinked once as he noticed and then his face brightened. "Whoah! It's snowing!" He looked like a child getting a new toy as he gawked excitedly at the powder of fallen snow on his windowsill.

Kuroko raised his eyebrow in wonder. "Kagami-kun likes snow?" He thought Kagami was more like a 'summer' type of guy.

"Well, I like winter more than summer," Kagami nodded. "In winter, you can feel other people's warmth more, right?" He grinned after that, looking pretty happy.

"Hmm… I would not know about it since I was alone a lot during winter. In winter, it is also colder and I do not know, but emptier as well, I guess," Kuroko faced the window again as he spoke, remembering how cold it was to be alone in a house.

Because his mother and father worked until late every day, Kuroko was practically left alone to take care of himself since he was little. He was used to it by now, but he still felt lonely and cold when he was by himself. His weak presence didn't help as well because sometimes even they forgot that Kuroko was there.

Kagami seemed to understand Kuroko's feeling as the larger male suddenly hugged him from his side, planting a light kiss on Kuroko's temple. Kuroko blinked and tilted his head upward slightly to look at Kagami's soft expression. "Kagami-kun…?"

"Then, I'll warm you up during winter from now on," Kagami said with a gentle smile on his face. Kuroko was rather amused at the cheesiness, but he really appreciated the sentiment.

"Sometimes Kagami-kun can be embarrassing too," Kuroko commented with a small smile and Kagami's face instantly colored at that.

"Shut up. Don't destroy the mood, you idiot," Kagami scowled in annoyance as Kuroko chuckled lightly at Kagami's disturbed expression.

Kuroko didn't know why, but it was so easy to smile around Kagami. He was expressionless most of the time because it was his basic expression, but Kuroko felt like smiling around Kagami. It was a rather strange and magical feeling. If it was happiness, then he wanted to feel it more, to keep feeling like that.

Kuroko looked at Kagami's crimson eyes fondly before he leaned up closer and then kissed Kagami's lips chastely, surprising Kagami slightly. "Warm me up, then." Kuroko challenged in breathy whisper.

Kagami's eyebrows visibly twitched, his body shuddering lightly, but it wasn't from the cold apparently. He smirked slightly before leaning down to kiss Kuroko back; and unlike Kuroko's small kiss, it was deep, hot and arousing.

Kuroko moaned breathily as Kagami pushed his body to lay back down on the mattress. Kagami's hand roamed on his bare skin, igniting what felt like fire with his every touch. He kept kissing Kuroko while slowly bringing his body to bloom.

"Nnh… Ka-…gami-kun…" Kuroko groaned Kagami's name lowly in a throaty whisper, and the teal haired boy could feel the excitement and the desire emanating from Kagami's body as he slowly opened himself to accept the wild passion that Kagami would surely give him…

…if only there wasn't a growling sound, which suspiciously came from the direction of Kagami's stomach.

A bead of sweat rolled down Kuroko's cheek as Kagami stopped moving and their stimulating activity was momentarily halted at the disturbing, intruding sound.

Kagami groaned as he let his weight fall on top of Kuroko's body. "I'm hungry…" He whined while hugging Kuroko's body like a pillow.

That surely destroyed the mood.

Kuroko could see from the corner of his eyes that Kagami seemed to try to hide his reddening face on the nape of his pale neck. But since even his ears turned pink, he was busted.

Kuroko fell into a fit of small chuckles at that. Really, Kagami was very funny when he was embarrassed. "Well, maybe we can eat some breakfast first before continuing," he recommended.

Kagami perked at the suggestion and lifted his face to grin at Kuroko despite still blushing. "I'll make some then," he said, before slowly waking up and then redressing himself with a pair of sweat pants, not bothering to put on a top before going out of his room.

Kuroko roused before sitting up again. He shook his head at Kagami's antics before he found his own clothes and redressed himself as well, following his lover into the kitchen. Kuroko passed the living room area and noticed his own cell phone at the couch and went to check on it.

As he opened the lid, Kuroko blinked when he saw one missed call on the screen. He immediately viewed who it was. At the caller ID displayed on it, Kuroko instantly paled.

"Akashi…kun…?"

It was shocking. No. It was horrifying as the realization hit Kuroko like a hammer in his face. He had missed Akashi's call. He _MISSED_ Akashi's call.

Kuroko's hand trembled and he almost dropped his cell phone at the sheer anxiety of what might happen afterwards. He shook his head and read the detail of the call. There was no voice mail or text message. It was just a missed call at 9.30 p.m. last night.

_Why did Akashi-kun call at such an hour?_—Kuroko wondered. Surely, it wasn't so late for a high school boy to call at that time, but Akashi didn't usually calling at that hour. That's why he and the others could always answer his calls.

_This is bad…! This must be important_—Kuroko was panicking inwardly. He didn't know what to do. He had never missed Akashi's call after all. _I'm afraid to call him back!_—he couldn't help freezing at the thought of the upcoming disaster the next time he and the GoM's captain met.

**#**

_**Aomine and Kise's situation—**_

Kise woke up slowly at the feeling of feathery touches on his face. He blinked slightly as he found Aomine's face so close to his. Actually it wasn't just close. Aomine was kissing his face repeatedly. Kise chuckled lightly at that. "Aomine-chi… that tickles," he said. Reaching to hold on to the back of Aomine's neck, he steered the dark skinned boy to kiss him properly on the mouth.

"Good morning," Aomine greeted Kise after the deep kiss.

"Morning, Aomine-chi!" Kise grinned happily before he moved to sit up and stretched his body while yawning like a cat. "It's rare to see you up so early in the morning, Aomine-chi," he said after that, tilting his head aside.

"Well, for some reasons I just woke up and couldn't sleep again," Aomine shrugged, resting his chin on his palm while looking at his boyfriend scuffle around, looking for his clothes.

"Are you hungry? I'll make some toast," Kise offered after he redressed himself with Aomine's shirt since he couldn't find his own.

Kise blushed as he remembered that Aomine had been undressing him while they were running to the room, or was it Aomine undressing him while lifting him to the room?

Aomine chuckled lowly, earning Kise's attention. The blond turned to face the taller teen that was staring at him, it was like Aomine was undressing Kise all over again. Kise blushed darker in confusion. "What?"

"You look good in my shirt," Aomine smirked, licking his lips sensually.

Kise's face felt burning at that compliment. "W-well, I can't find my own clothes, Aomine-chi! You must have scattered them on the hallway!" the blond whined, still so red from embarrassment.

"Maybe you don't have to wear the trousers," Aomine didn't seem to listen to Kise's protest and kept looking at Kise like he was a piece of meat that was ready to be devour.

"Come on, Aomine-chi! Don't be such a pervert in the morning!" Kise protested some more, while trying to cover Aomine's eyes.

Aomine laughed and caught Kise's wrist before pulling the blond model down to lay on top of him. Kise yelped in surprise as he realized how provocative their position at that moment. "Maybe I want to eat you for breakfast," Aomine whispered huskily near Kise's ear. Kise gasped as he felt the tanner boy nip at the tip of his ear.

"Ah, jeez, Aomine-chi~!" Kise whined again, but more turned on than displeased. Aomine smirked as he seemed to notice that as well.

Aomine closed the gap between them in a kiss again, rocking his bottom. This earned a deep moan from Kise, who felt pleasure just from the small contact. They were about to go further when the doorbell rang, interrupting them.

Kise flushed and pulled back, realizing that this was not the time to be doing what they were about to do since he had a photo-shoot schedule today. Aomine clicked his tongue at that. "Sorry, Aomine-chi. I have to get ready before eight today," Kise said apologetically. "You can go back to sleep if you want. I'll answer the door," he then gave Aomine a small peck on the cheek before getting up and out of the room.

A bead of sweat rolled down Kise's cheek as he immediately saw the scattered clothes on the floor. He picked them up one by one until he came across with his and Aomine's pants. Kise huffed as he picked up both and fished around the pocket of his pants to retrieve his cell phone.

The blond had only intended to check on the messages he surely got from his manager about the photo shoot today, but instead he found one missed call. Kise tilted his head aside as he viewed who it was and involuntarily screamed as he read the caller ID.

Aomine immediately got out of the room after that and headed towards Kise, having heard his scream. "What was that just now?"

"A-Aomine-chi…" Kise turned to face Aomine while tearing up, feeling mortified.

"What's wrong?" Aomine seemed concerned as he saw Kise's face.

"I… I missed Akashi-chi's call…!" Kise said, tears falling down restlessly on his cheeks in his panic.

Aomine paled at that, as he immediately grabbed his pants from Kise's hand and checked his own cell phone. He widened his eyes as he looked at the screen, before showing it to Kise as well. "I missed Akashi's call too."

Kise's breath hitched in shock at that fact.

_We're gonna die!_—Kise and Aomine thought at the same time.

**#**

_**Midorima and Takao's Situation—**_

Midorima had been awake for almost ten minutes.

Ten minutes of self-reflecting and wondering… just after he woke up, he had realized that for the first time in his life, he let someone go that far with him in the matter of physical connection.

Midorima slowly turned to see the person who was sleeping peacefully beside him. Takao's breath was even and he looked very comfortable resting while holding Midorima's arm.

Midorima sighed. His parents were downstairs. They would freak out if they found him and Takao like this. Although, he could always reason that the futon was too cold for Takao and so he had to hop onto bed and sleep beside Midorima because he was easily chilled.

His parents would buy it because they never fussed too deeply over whatever Midorima did, as long as he kept up his good grades and left their family's name untarnished.

Moreover, Midorima and Takao were both still clothed, THANK GOD for that.

Still, Midorima didn't panic like he thought he would when Takao attacked him… or actually, Takao made Midorima attack him after the raven had seduced him so blatantly last night. Midorima flushed as he remembered how Takao straddled him, and then kissed him, their hands moving to every nook and crook of each other's bodies as time passed.

_I can't believe I fell for it!_

Midorima looked away from the still sleeping teen, his face hot in shame. He felt like hiding under the pillow or something, but since Takao was still hugging his arm, he couldn't move freely. So, he settled with just sighing in defeat.

Midorima had thought that doing those –_icky things lovers usually do_– wouldn't sit well with his stomach, but last night had proven him -_oh so wrong_-. Midorima had enjoyed it… a little bit too much for his liking, but like hell if he would admit that.

Well, it was probably due to his teenage hormones acting up… or something like that. But, he was sure he would be repulsed if his partner wasn't Takao.

_Takao…_— really, Midorima didn't know what to do with him. Surely, he and Midorima were a couple now, especially after last night, even though they hadn't gone all the way. _But still—_.

Originally Midorima had wanted to move slowly in this relationship. He _still_ wanted to treasure it more. But why did Midorima get swept away so easily by Takao's pace? They were just in their first year of high school. Wasn't it too soon?

Midorima sighed again deeply. He had believed that he could hold back no matter how long, but apparently, he was defeated the first time _the little devil_ acted out. He didn't think he would get seduced like that. He had a strong suspicion that it had something to do with Takao's alone time with Aomine in that gondola the day before.

What kind of poisonous idea had that _Ahomine_ planted inside Takao's skull to make the Shuutoku point guard actually decide to seduce him? Midorima would definitely give a piece of his mind to that pervert if they saw each other again.

While Midorima was muttering curses at a certain dark-skinned ace under his breath, Takao stirred beside him, alerting Midorima instantly. "Nnh…" Two pairs of onyx eyes slowly opened while the owner sighed lightly.

Midorima gulped as his emerald eyes met Takao's and a small content smile bloomed on Takao's face. "Good morning, Shin-chan," he greeted blissfully afterwards.

Midorima's heart thumped harder for a second as he witnessed such an adorable sight. His face heated and he immediately turned away from Takao, neither trusting his voice nor his expression yet to react accordingly to that kind of view. It was very embarrassing. He felt like burying himself in a hole, if there were any around him at the moment.

"Shin-chan?" Takao's questioning voice called him, sounding confused.

Midorima still hadn't said anything. Not yet. He would stammer and stutter if he responded to Takao now, and Midorima Shintarou _didn't do_ those idiotic things.

The room was silent for another minute as Midorima still couldn't face Takao properly, but then Takao spoke out. "Um… if-, if you're regretting what happened last night…" His voice trembled slightly and Midorima had to react to that, because he detected a hint of fear in them.

Despite still being unprepared, Midorima turned to face Takao and grabbed his hand tightly, surprising the shorter, dark-haired teen. "Don't think about anything stupid, you fool. I wouldn't have let you do anything at all if I hadn't…" –another gulp- "-been at least interested in doing it at all." Midorima felt his face burning as he was spitting out those embarrassing lines.

Takao blinked once in wonder at that and Midorima felt the need to explain more because Takao could be dense too sometimes. "I was just…surprised, you know. Because I thought I could handle a teenager's hormones and be more composed about it. Moreover, we're still quite too young. If... if I decide to do something like that, I just want to make sure that I can at least be ready enough to take responsibility for it."

Well, it was the most mature thing he could muster in the jumble mess of his mortified feelings at that moment. Midorima absolutely did not want to sound like a girl for freaking out after last night impromptu activity.

Takao blinked again before he chuckled suddenly. This time, a wide happy grin adorned his handsome face. "Surprisingly, Shin-chan is a very romantic guy," he teased before scooting closer and giving Midorima a light kiss on the lips.

Midorima almost yelped in surprise, but he caught himself in time and scowled at Takao even though he was positive that his face was still colored like a ripe tomato. He was being serious there, damn it! He was about lecture him for being an insensitive jerk when Takao suddenly said something that pierced his heart with a Cupid Arrow instead.

"Shin-chan, you don't have to worry about stuff like that. I've decided from the start that I will be staying beside Shin-chan for a long time. No matter if it's ten years or fifty, I won't leave Shin-chan's side. Not even if Shin-chan is bored with me. We can still stay together as friends if our relationship as lovers doesn't work."

Takao gave Midorima a very nice smile. A genuine smile that screamed nothing but sincerity and honesty. Midorima was so moved, and at that precise moment the phrase 'true love' fleeted across his mind.

It was Midorima Shintarou. He didn't believe in fairy tales, and yet….

Mdorima felt the sudden urge to do something, something that could turn that sweet delicate moment into perfection. He dropped his gaze to Takao's slightly parted lips, and Takao looked at him back with half-lidded eyes, tempting him. Midorima wanted to… kiss him, just to feel how real this moment was.

"Shin-…chan…" Takao's low whisper tickled his hearing. Midorima leaned his face closer to close the gap between the two with a slow, languid kiss.

Although, that perfect moment had to be disturbed immediately by "Shintarou! Wake up, dear! Breakfast is ready!" Midorima's mother's sing-song voice suddenly called him from outside his bedroom door.

In a jolt of total surprise, Midorima and Takao hurriedly parted, blushing in panic and in mortification as they moved as far away as possible from each other. It was just in time when Midorima's mother opened the door and entered the room.

She blinked slightly seeing her son sit rigidly on the edge of his bed while his friend was on the opposite direction, their backs to each other.

Midorima's heart was hammering in his chest so hard and fast as he tried to see if his mother was suspecting something, but she didn't seem to think that anything was weird. "My, Takao-kun is awake too. Great! Freshen up, you two. Let's have breakfast together." His mother then smiled kindly and cheerily after that.

_Sa-safe…_—Midorima let out a long relieved breath that he hadn't realized he was holding until then.

Takao turned to face Midorima's mom and smiled childishly. "Yay~ I get to eat auntie's delicious cooking! Lucky~! Thank you very much! I'll surely enjoy it!" He said while jumping down from the bed with such a happy expression that any mother would want to fawn over him like he was five instead of a high school student.

"Maa, Takao-kun is such a nice, flattering boy!"

Midorima was so lucky that Takao was a good-natured flirt because his mother seemed to like the raven very much. He also had enough manners to act respectfully when his dad was around, so even his strict father could also accept him as a good friend for Midorima.

Midorima couldn't help but wonder what they would do or say if they knew he and Takao were dating, though… but that could wait for as long as it would take, preferably until after Midorima could live separately and independently from his parents.

"We'll come down soon, mother," Midorima said and nodded at his mother in response after Takao and she were done chatting for a moment.

"Then I'll see you two downstairs," Midorima's mother smiled sweetly at Midorima and ruffled Takao's hair before she left the room, and the two teenagers were alone again.

"Auntie is such a nice mother," Takao chuckled happily after the door was closed. He seemed to genuinely like Midorima's mom as a mother figure. Well, Midorima couldn't blame him, though. His mother was kind and beautiful like Yamato Nadeshiko after all.

"You can use the bathroom first, Takao." Midorima stood up from his bed as well and grabbed the cell phone on the table, only intending to check the time since the clock in his room had been out of battery since yesterday and he forgot to replace it.

"Uhuh," Takao was about to get out of the room as Midorima noticed a missed call, actually squeaking when he viewed the caller ID. "Shin-chan?" the raven turned around again to look at his boyfriend.

Midorima paled slightly in total shock after he read Akashi's name. "Oh, my god…!" He sucked in a sharp breath as he tried to will his lungs to take in as much oxygen as possible since they didn't seem to work. It didn't help that he started to feel like hyperventilating.

"Shin-chan?" Takao sounded worried as he approached Midorima.

"Akashi called and I missed it," Midorima Shintarou had never been so distraught in his life, with the exception for that moment, as he imagined what kind of hell he would pay for that single miss he had done.

**#**

_**Murasakibara and Himuro's situation—**_

Himuro woke up to a shuffling sound beside him. He opened his eyes slightly and turned around, only to face the already sitting Murasakibara whose back was to him.

"Atsushi?" Himuro sat up slowly after that, moving closer to the violet haired teen who was fumbling with his clothes.

Murasakibara perked slightly as he heard Himuro's voice and turned around. "Oh, good morning, Muro-chin," he greeted slowly.

"What are you doing?" Himuro rested his chin on Murasakibara's shoulder while looking at the taller, younger boy's hands.

"I'm looking for my cell-phone. Can't find it in my pocket," Murasakibara lifted his clothes and flailed them around. It seemed that the device should have been in his jumper's pocket.

"Oh, it's on the night stand. You put it out yesterday before…" Himuro blushed slightly as he remembered what they were doing last night. As much as he wanted to appear cool about it, he still had enough decency not to voice such private, intimate moment out loud.

Murasakibara didn't seem to be bothered by the half-said sentence; instead he turned to look at his cell-phone on the night stand and smiled. He then gave a light kiss on Himuro's cheek, to Himuro's utter surprise before he looked upward at Murasakibara wonderingly.

"Thank you," Murasakibara said after that. Himuro wasn't sure if he was thanking him for telling the violet haired boy the whereabouts of his cell phone or for something else, but Murasakibara's expression was gentle and soft at that moment. Himuro averted his eyes and looked away slowly, feeling rather shy all of sudden.

Murasakibara reached his hand out to Himuro's chin and pulled the older boy in to face him again. "Don't look away from me, Muro-chin," he said before he leaned down and kissed him on the lips.

Himuro closed his eyes slowly, feeling the kiss. Murasakibara was being gentle, the opposite of what he had done last night. Himuro shivered when he remembered how… rough Murasakibara was. Himuro was kind of expecting the same treatment, so it was surprising that Murasakibara was being gentle now.

"You know, Muro-chin,"

Himuro slowly opened his eyes as he heard Murasakibara speak after he released the kiss. He started to nip at his jaw and neck instead, earning a soft gasp from Himuro.

"I kinda wish that your heart was something edible, then I could take it out and eat it just to make sure that you're always close to me and live inside me," the purple haired boy whispered lowly and Himuro shuddered at the seriousness of his tone.

It was kind of disturbing when Murasakibara said such sadistic things for intimate reasons. But Himuro knew that Murasakibara didn't have any ill intentions when he spoke like that. It was just… hearing something like that from the usually childlike Murasakibara put a question mark in Himuro's head, as he wondered whether he meant it as a type of figurative speech or meant it _literally_.

Himuro chuckled slightly at his crazy thought. It would be a cannibalistic behavior, but it was funny so he was entertained by the idea. "Then you can only eat me once and I will die," he said humorously, kissing Murasakibara's top lightly.

Murasakibara made a disappointed noise. "That won't do. I want to keep eating Muro-chin," he pouted cutely. Himuro chuckled again before kissing Murasakibara's lips once more.

"You can eat me as much as you want like this," Himuro licked the corner of Murasakibara's mouth and the younger one opened it to take the tongue inside his own before sucking it.

Himuro moaned slightly at that, leaning upward to deepen the kiss as Murasakibara's hand moved behind his neck to angle their position better. It was arousing to say the least. Himuro really loved the way Murasakibara kissed him and treated him. His roughness was something that excited Himuro very much. It was rather amazing.

Though, before Himuro could pull Murasakibara back to bed, the cell-phone on the table buzzed. Four different alert tones simultaneously rang after that, surprising Himuro and earning raised eyebrows from Murasakibara.

"Four messages at the same time?" Himuro thought it was weird.

Murasakibara moved away from Himuro to Himuro's disappointment. He still wanted to be close to the younger's body heat. Murasakibara reached for the cell-phone and retrieved it to see the screen. He raised his eyebrows again as he clicked the keypad around. By the time he finished and put the device down, he looked rather worried, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Himuro was curious of what he had received in the text messages.

"They are from Kuro-chin and the others," Murasakibara said slowly. "And one missed call from Aka-chin," at the last line, Himuro could feel the temperature drop around them. His body hair stood up.

"Huh?" Himuro didn't know what the bad feeling he suddenly felt was.

"Aka-chin called us last night, and we… all of us ignored it," Murasakibara crouched down with his arms around his bent legs and his face hidden behind his knees. "He must be very mad… We're done for."

Himuro paled at that. What did he meant by they were done for?!

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Akashi was on his way out of the school dorm. Hayama Kotarou and Mibuchi Reo were walking, one briskly and one calmly, behind him.

"Um… Sei-chan," Mibuchi called the red haired teen in front of him warily as he noticed that the smaller tense figure seemed to be eliciting a dark aura around him. The raven haired teen was rather worried since Akashi appeared to be in a bad mood since morning.

Akashi didn't reply his call, so Kotarou took the matter at hand and called him as well, probably thinking that Akashi didn't hear Mibuchi's first call. "Akashi!" the light-brown haired boy's voice was louder and more reckless.

Mibuchi was getting even more concerned thinking that Kotarou would piss Akashi off with his behavior. Both fellow Crownless Kings looked at each other afterwards when they didn't receive any response from their younger captain.

"Neh, where do you think he was going?" Kotarou asked Mibuchi curiously. They were still following Akashi, and now they were on the school ground, heading towards the entrance gate.

"It's Sunday. He probably wants to go somewhere alone," Mibuchi deduced, since Akashi was wearing casual clothes and he only brought a small backpack with him.

Even though Mibuchi saw Akashi go to school this morning in uniform, the smaller teen just went up to principal office for something and by the time he saw him again back in the dorm, he already had on his everyday winter clothes. Then without saying anything, Akashi just took off.

Mibuchi felt the need to ask where Akashi would go because he didn't seem in an _okay_ mood when he left the dorm. Hence he and Hayama, whom he met on the way, followed the smaller teen. Seriously, usually Akashi would greet them even though it was just formality, but today Akashi was acting rather strangely, for he didn't even give them a single glance at all.

"Akashi goes sightseeing?" Hayama made a weird face at the idea.

"Who knows, right?" Mibuchi shrugged.

They decided to follow him anyway. Just in case. A mad looking Akashi was scaring everyone around him, and it wouldn't do him (and everyone in general) any good if he pissed off the wrong people. Though, despite Akashi's scary personality (Mibuchi was sure he could take care of himself better than anyone else), it was still common sense to look out for him.

Both Mibuchi and Hayama stared ridiculously as Akashi went inside the train station not long after that. Looking over his shoulder as he purchased the train tickets, they were baffled as they noticed that Akashi was heading to Tokyo.

"What does he want to do in Tokyo?" Mibuchi asked incredulously.

"Maybe he has a meeting with his old teammates…" Hayama smiled ruefully at that.

"Oh…" Mibuchi nodded. That made sense. If he wanted to see those GoM guys, then it would be normal to go there instead of calling them to Kyoto, even though Mibuchi was sure they would still come running to Akashi if he summoned them.

Mibuchi's sweat dropped at that.

Though, he couldn't help wondering… _What's with that murderous look on his face, if he's going to a reunion with those precious old teammates of his?_

**End of Part 1**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**A/N:** Yosh, finally part one of Akashi's story (although I must apologize for the lack of his appearance in this part because I have to create the suspense first or I just want to add more love-love scenes of the other pairings first before moving with the slightly heavy plot *coughs*). Ahem, anyway, this will be an Akashi/Furihata fic later… I plan on this story to wrap up the series by telling Akashi's family background and why he acts the way he acts until now (in manga). Also, this fic will be seven to eight chapters long (according to my calculation, unless the fic takes a life on its own and forces me to add some extra chapters like what happened to 'Kiss Me Sweetly').

Okay, I won't babble everything here. If you have any idea of what's going on then feel free to speculate *lol* or if you find it interesting enough to follow, then please do *grins* Con-crit is always expected, dear readers!


	2. Part 2

**Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke and its characters belong to Fujimati Tadatoshi. Luna only owns the plot of this fanfic. No profit is made from this fun writing!**

**Warning: **_AU, slight oOC-ness, language, yaoi, OC alert (for the character's family members), etc…_

******Beta: ****tora-chan83.** Thank you very much for your help!  


**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait! Many things happened in real life and well, I don't want to trouble you guys with unnecessary rambling. Anyway, thank you very much for your kind reviews, for faving and alerting this story. Although I haven't been able to reply to them one by one, I will as soon as I have time to do that. I really thank you for taking your time to read and review this story, though.

Now, please enjoy this second chapter. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I do making.

* * *

**Signal**

_**Part 2**_

* * *

Akashi was walking down the street of Ginza after he got off from the train. The street was packed with people despite the cold air and the falling snow. Though, it did nothing to deter Akashi from his mission.

"They should know better that after ignoring my call there would be something to pay," Akashi muttered forebodingly as he stopped at a certain public park in Ginza. The park was quite wide and luck was on Akashi's side because it was deserted at that moment.

"Hn. It is nowhere near luck. I simply knew this park would be empty at this hour," Akashi commented, negating all thoughts of getting lucky because he was just superior like that. He was always right and would always win in the end.

Akashi took out his cell-phone and sent broadcast-messages to his former teammates.

No, for Akashi, they weren't just teammates.

The Generation of Miracles'… were his generals. Like in _shogi _pieces, Akashi was the king, Daiki and Ryouta were his knights, Shintarou was his bishop, Atsushi was his rook and Tetsuya…

_His queen._

A ruthless phantom that had extra-ordinary observational skill just like Akashi, a pass-specialist who was on par with Akashi's skill, and the most important thing… he was the closest thing that Akashi had ever seen as a _brother_ he had never had.

Akashi chuckled darkly at the thought. Even after the vow to never forget their rightful place beside Akashi, Kuroko was the first one to pull away by leaving them behind, the others following soon after, going to their own separated ways.

Maybe Kuroko saw what Akashi had in store for them in the future subconsciously. Such sensitive senses. Despite their two sides of the same coin personality, Kuroko was _actually_ the closest one to almost see Akashi behind all of his facades.

Well, it wasn't like Akashi showed it accidentally. He only wanted to see how Kuroko would react, seeing the 'real' him. As predicted, Kuroko chose to close his eyes to that reality. He was afraid to know the truth. He was too close, so he pulled away.

_A failure_.

As time went on, Akashi hadn't yet to find another soul who could fly like Icarus again. The Crownless Kings of Rakuzan weren't that bad, but compared to his former generals, they were nowhere close. They liked to think that they knew Akashi well by now, but it was just an illusion he wanted them to see. His true self wasn't even _near_ that.

Akashi's cell phone ringtone went off after that, bringing Akashi back from his train of thought. He peered at the screen haughtily, and finding Atsushi's name there, he smirked. The taller boy was most likely wanting to protest because he had to come to Ginza from Akita, but Akashi wouldn't have that.

He rejected the call.

"Come to me without questioning my motive. That's what I've always told them." Akashi sat down at the bench, looking at the white sky. His breath turned into white puffs as he exhaled slowly.

_Atsushi actually ignoring my call on purpose is unlikely. He's the most obedient. There must have been a cause to why the five of them were unable to answer my call at all. I'd like to know the reason… but they will get punished either way _—Ignoring Akashi Seijuurou's call meant painful experiences and he'd make sure to brand that into their mind and memory so that it wouldn't happen again.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Murasakibara was very pale. He looked like a zombie after he closed the lid of his cell-phone.

"Atsushi…?" Himuro was quite worried. And no, it wasn't because the other customers in the breakfast area were staring at them openly, obviously, because it was rare to see two high school boys having breakfast _together _in a five-star hotel restaurant.

Moreover, Murasakibara's height and Himuro's slender feature were too catching to ignore.

Well, Murasakibara had money. Himuro did as well, so there was nothing wrong with having breakfast together there… just the two of them. It was because Murasakibara was making a face like the world would end any moment that Himuro was concerned.

_Is it really that bad missing one call from his former captain?_—Himuro couldn't help but wonder.

Of course, Akashi Seijuurou was one hell scary boy, but he was still a high school student, just like him and Murasakibara. What hazardous thing was Akashi capable of inflicting upon other people… his former teammates?

"Atsushi, are you okay?" Himuro put his hand over Murasakibara's, which was on the table.

Murasakibara shook his head slowly before dropped his head on the table, groaning lightly.

"Aka-chin won't take my call. He _always_ answered my calls before. If not, he will always call back, but not this time. I've been trying since we were still in the room earlier. He rejected all of my calls," he mumbled, complaining or more like moping.

"But, you said he gave you a text message a few minutes ago," Himuro pointed out.

"It was a summoning text. He demands to see us in four hours from now in Ginza. He must have thought I was still in Akita. I only want to inform him that I'm in Tokyo right now," Murasakibara sulked.

"So text him back," Himuro raised his eyebrows.

…

…

"Good idea, Muro-chin. Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Murasakibara raised his head from the table and immediately fumbled with his cell phone.

_That's because you're so focused on thinking how the world would end after you missed one call from him, right? _—A bead of sweat rolled down Himuro's cheek at the thought. _But really, Atsushi seems to think so highly of Akashi. Are they somehow… close?_

Himuro suddenly felt a little bit jealous. There was a past that he didn't know of between Murasakibara and his middle school teammates, a past that he couldn't intrude, and it was somehow disheartening to think that Murasakibara valued that past more than his present time.

"I texted Aka-chin," Murasakibara informed Himuro. Then he proceeded to stare at his phone, looking mildly anxious, for five minutes, but there was no reply. He looked down again, looking helpless. "Aka-chin must be very angry…"

"Is he… that important to you?" Himuro asked against his better judgment. Even though he didn't want to sound jealous, he did feel jealous… a bit.

Murasakibara raised his face to look at Himuro, whose eyes refused to look back. He opted to poke around his fresh fruit salad and stare at it as if it was the most interesting thing inside the restaurant.

"Is Kagami important to you, Muro-chin?" Murasakibara asked back and Himuro's heart skipped a beat at the question. He looked up at Murasakibara, rather perplexed. "That's how I feel about Aka-chin," the violet haired boy continued.

Himuro smiled ruefully then, sighing, once again holding Murasakibara's hand and squeezing it slightly. "I see," he understood. Just like how he had a connection with Kagami, Murasakibara also had a connection with Akashi. It didn't have to be the same, but the fundamental feeling was similar.

For Murasakibara, those ex-teammates were probably like his family as well, huh?

"Let's go meet up with Kuro-chin and the others. They said they want to have a strategy meeting before facing our doom together later," Murasakibara started to stand.

Himuro was quite baffled as Murasakibara walked away. "Your breakfast?" he called. Himuro didn't think Murasakibara would skip his meal, and he hadn't eaten any snacks since this morning.

_This must be a record!_

"I'm not hungry," Murasakibara patted his stomach, already near the entrance, making a funny face.

He was acting so out of character, right? Himuro asked himself. Seeing and hearing Murasakibara _not feeling hungry_ was like seeing a turtle stand up and walk with two feet.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Himuro was very worried now. This 'missing Akashi's call' event was apparently very big to have caused even Murasakibara to lose his appetite.

Murasakibara tilted his head aside, his face rather blankly cute. "Maybe I will feel better after I meet Aka-chin and know that I'm not going to end soon." His words betrayed his look, though.

Himuro let out a long sigh and stood as well before leaving his unfinished breakfast, following Murasakibara. He reached out and grabbed Murasakibara's hand before they went out of the hotel. "At least let me accompany you. I won't let you face the danger by yourself. I got your back, okay? Since I'm your _current partner_," he smiled gently at Murasakibara.

Murasakibara blinked once before he leaned down and kissed Himuro's lips lightly. "Thank you, Muro-chin." He smiled then. A genuine smile that made Himuro's heart beat faster.

Himuro hugged Murasakibara's arm afterwards, feeling content, warm and happy.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Kagami was staring at Kuroko worriedly. The teal haired boy was very pale, paler than usual. He looked downright sick. Kagami had found the boy in the living room, fiddling with his cell-phone and holding onto the device tightly as if it was the bane of his existence. Kagami had asked if Kuroko was okay, but the boy only answered him with a simple nod.

It looked like a 'lie' in Kagami's perspective, and he wasn't even good at reading people. Kuroko kept his blank expression intact when Kagami called the boy to have breakfast in the kitchen. For the past twenty minutes, the redhead had tried to initiate conversation, but Kuroko's mind seemed to be elsewhere and he didn't listen to Kagami at all.

Kagami sighed and put down his chopsticks. He was only on his third bowl, but Kuroko was more important than breakfast right now. "Did something happen?" That question seemed to earn him Kuroko's attention for the moment. "You're still gripping at your phone, Kuroko," he continued and pointed to the phone.

Kuroko looked at his cell-phone as if he just realized that it was there, in his vice-like clench. He then relaxed his muscles and let go of the phone. "I apologize," he said, sighing deeply. Kagami frowned. He didn't even know what Kuroko was apologizing for.

"Why are you apologizing?" Kagami asked, confused.

"There is something on my mind…" Kuroko looked hesitant. It was weird seeing him like that. He was always blunt when it came to something important.

"You know you can tell me anything you want, right?" Kagami started to wonder if he had done something wrong to have Kuroko act like that.

"Yes, I do," Kuroko immediately answered, as if to reassure him that he didn't have any doubt about it or about Kagami. He took a deep breath before saying, "Akashi-kun called last night and I missed the call. It happened to the others as well and now he demands us to see him in four hours." He let it out in a rush.

Kagami blanched, "Akashi… your ex-captain?" He hated to admit it, but that guy's name stirred something unpleasant in Kagami's stomach. Having learned from experience that the shorter redhead was capable of hurting him if he wanted to, Kagami wasn't so keen on letting his boyfriend go anywhere near that evil bastard.

"Can't you just ignore him?" Kagami suggested.

Kuroko stared at Kagami… hard, as if he were telling him that Kagami was being idiotic or stupid or both. "Ignoring Akashi-kun is like… ignoring a shark when you are bleeding in front of its mouth," the teal haired boy said, almost looking scandalized. Although no one could tell because of his even stare and tone.

Kagami didn't know what kind of analogy that was, bleeding in front of a shark, because if the shark was outside of the water, it couldn't do a damn thing, right?

"Missing Akashi-kun's call _is_ something we do not want to do." Kuroko sighed again, closing his eyes. He looked exhausted even though they were only about to start the day. "He hates being ignored the most… and now he summons us because we actually _missed_ his call. He must have been very furious to even be willing to board a train from Kyoto to meet us at Ginza."

Kagami suddenly felt worried at that thought. "You will go despite knowing that he's angry and he wants to hurt you?"

Kuroko looked down at the table. "We cannot defy his order," he mumbled slowly.

"He doesn't own you guys!" Kagami complained loudly. He didn't know why all the GoM members were so loyal to Akashi. Of course, he was as scary as the devil himself, especially with those heterochromatic eyes staring creepily at you, but why did Kagami get the feeling that the rest of the GoM saw him as something _more_ than just a threat to their existence?

Kuroko looked upward at Kagami's crimson eyes deeply, as if he were telling him something. "Well, Akashi-kun does… in a way," the teal haired boy admitted.

Kagami didn't understand it at all. "What do you mean he owns you guys in a way?" Akashi couldn't possibly blackmail his own ex-teammates, right?

Wait, forget Kagami asked. Akashi was _of course_ capable of doing something far worse than blackmail.

"Akashi-kun… kind of gave his life once for us," Kuroko closed his eyes now, seeming to be remembering something from the past. Kagami didn't even need to look hard at Kuroko's expressionless face to know that it was an unpleasant, yet important, memory.

"What… do you mean by—," Kagami couldn't finish his line as the doorbell of his house suddenly chimed, cutting his words. Kagami tried to ignore it and intended to continue his question when the bell chimed repeatedly after that, getting on his nerves.

"Maybe you should answer the door," Kuroko suggested evenly.

Kagami grumbled under his breath about rude guests with the worst timing as he walked to the front door. He opened the door only to squeak in surprise as a bundle of red suddenly jumped in and hugged him while squealing, "Taigaaaaaa! Mommy missed you, my baby boy!"

It was a very loud voice talking in the English language. Kagami also wasn't prepared for the smooch on the cheek. Coupled with the weight and the surprise, he went down to the floor, thumping his back and head quite painfully on the hard surface.

"Owww~!" Of course, a painful groan ensued. Kagami tried to nurse his abused head as he scowled at the grinning woman sitting on top of his stomach. "Mom, what the hell!?" he yelled at the woman in her mid thirties, pretty annoyed.

Yes, everyone, it was Kagami Setsuna, Kagami's mother in the flesh.

Setsuna's grin widened a fraction. "Aww, aren't you happy mommy came home?"

Kagami's frown deepened. "If I knew I'd get squashed, I'd be very unhappy about the thought."

He slowly aroused then, shifting his mother's weight slightly so he could sit. "Why are you here?" he asked soon after Setsuna was busy hugging him and fawning over him.

"Well, your dad said we'd be in Japan until the winter ends this year, so I took the liberty to come home first and Taira will come home as well once the winter break starts! Which will be in three days, by the way," she chuckled.

"Heeh, so I don't need to go home to the States for Christmas and New Years, huh?" Kagami mumbled slowly.

"Yep, this year we can be together in Japan until next year!" Setsuna smiled happily as she hugged her son again enthusiastically.

Kagami didn't know why her mother was so energetic. It was still too early for that. "Why didn't you call if you were coming home? I could have picked you up at the airport," Kagami stood, bringing his mother to stand as well.

Setsuna giggled. "Well, I want to surprise Taiga, that's why," she cheered, seeming to be very joyful that she had done just that.

Kagami scratched his head and was about to complain again when "Kagami-kun," Kuroko's flat voice was suddenly heard and the teal haired boy materialized at Kagami and Setsuna's side.

"Gyaaah!" Kagami jumped and squeaked in shock while Setsuna whipped her head to face Kuroko in alert and surprise as well. "Kurokoooo! Damn it! Stop doing that, you bastard!" Kagami roared and locked Kuroko's neck with his arm while his free hand knuckled his top.

"Ow, ow, ow, it hurts, Kagami-kun," Kuroko didn't seem to be in pain at all when he said that.

"Oh," Setsuna then blinked as her crimson eyes met Kuroko's sky blue ones. "My… I'm sorry for not noticing you there. Are you Taiga's friend?" she asked, seeming to be amused at Kagami and Kuroko's interaction.

"Oh, yeah!" Kagami suddenly realized that he hadn't introduced them, so he released Kuroko from his punishment and did just that. "Kuroko, this is my mother, Kagami Setsuna. Mom, this is Kuroko, _my boyfriend_." He didn't even spare his mom with lies. After all, she would find out eventually and it was better to tell her as soon as possible because the consequence of lying to her was more severe than the shocking truth.

Kuroko looked at Kagami as if he had gone mad. Setsuna hadn't said anything as she tilted her head aside. "Come again?" Finally, she said something, but there was a tinge of confusion in her tone.

"He's Kuroko Tetsuya, my boyfriend," Kagami repeated surely, making Kuroko face palm.

Setsuna was silent for a few seconds with unreadable expression, before she smiled. "I see. Break up this instant," she ordered her son immediately.

Kagami dropped his jaw in disbelief and Kuroko looked up at Setsuna with wide eyes, genuinely looking surprised at the blunt, harsh order. "WHY?!" Kagami protested, subconsciously hugging Kuroko to protect and shield the smaller teen from the rejection of his mother. "You said I was free to date whoever I want!"

"Well, I don't have any objection if you were only in friends-with-benefit relationship with your _male_ companion, but it's different if you introduce him as your lover," Setsuna's face was slowly turning serious. "You have your father's conviction and loyalty, Taiga. If you are serious about someone, you will hold them dear for the rest of your life, and you know you are my only son. You haven't forgotten about your duty to succeed your family name, have you?"

Kagami held Kuroko's body closer as he narrowed his eyes at his mother disapprovingly.

Setsuna was a good mother and a good wife. She was trying to protect Kagami from society's judgment, but she shouldn't have said it so brusquely like that, especially right after he introduced Kuroko to her. Kuroko hadn't even said anything, not even a greeting to her!

Kagami was in the verge to uttering another complaint when suddenly, "Kagami-kun," Kuroko cut off and put his hand on Kagami's arm, giving it a light reassuring squeeze. Kagami looked down at the smaller boy who looked back at him strongly.

Kagami slowly released Kuroko, knowing that Kuroko wanted to defend himself. Kuroko was neither a weak guy nor a girl that had to be protected constantly. Plus, Kagami had faith in his precious boyfriend, so he let go of Kuroko with a sigh.

Once freed, Kuroko faced Setsuna with a passive determined look. He bowed slightly to her in polite manner and said his greeting. "It is very nice to meet you, Kagami-san."

Setsuna's eyes glinted slightly in amusement. Kagami could see that she didn't _dislike_ Kuroko at all. "Setsuna is fine, _Tetsuya_-kun," she said.

Kuroko twitched slightly when Setsuna called him by his first name before he nodded. "Setsuna-san," he then amended before slowly straightening his body up once again. "Forgive my rudeness for intruding your living space when you are not around, and please excuse the abrupt introduction of my _status_ as Kagami-kun's boyfriend," he said slowly, graciously and evenly.

Setsuna chuckled. "Taiga could use some improvement in delicacy, right?" her laughter turned into giggles.

"Hey!" and Kagami immediately protested at the insult.

Kuroko gave Setsuna a small smile. "As indelicate as he might be, I still love him, though. I know you were probably trying to protect your son and your family, but regarding your request to break up our relationship… I must humbly decline," he finished gracefully.

Setsuna whistled, seeming to be impressed by his perfect calmness. "You are _something_," she admitted. She then smiled at the shorter boy before she put her palm on his head, fixing his bed-hair which was still there from the moment Kuroko woke up until he was done with breakfast. "And a cute one too, I understand why Taiga wants to date you," she complimented.

Kagami blushed at that. "Mom!?"

"Don't worry. It was just a simple test. And you passed with flying colors," Setsuna grinned, ruffling Kuroko's hair gently with her soft palm and manicured fingers. Kuroko looked at the red haired woman with a surprised look again.

"A test?!" Kagami felt the need to nitpick again after that. "Seriously?!"

"Well, if you want a lover, I have to make sure he/she is strong enough to handle our family, you know? Gay marriage isn't totally acceptable even in the States," Setsuna huffed.

"MOM!" Kagami squeaked indignantly. "We're still in _freaking_ high school!" And of course he blushed furiously as well. What in the world was his mother thinking, talking about marriage when both he and Kuroko weren't even old enough to drink alcohol legally?

Now Setsuna was holding Kuroko close, pressing the slender boy's face to her C-cup bosoms.

"What are you talking about? Haven't we taught you that you can only date the person you will marry someday?" Now it was Setsuna's turn to narrow her eyes at her son. "Or are you telling me that you aren't serious enough but you dare introduce him as your lover?"

Setsuna was quite intimidating with her fiery ruby orbs scrutinizing Kagami's form. Kagami gulped slightly. "Of course I'm serious! But talking about marriage at our age is ridiculous!" he reasoned.

"Well, that's true. Though you have to hear about the epic romance of your dad and I eighteen years ago when he took me away from my strict family and we ran to the wits end of the world to be together," Setsuna laughed regally like a queen. Kagami face palmed now. She could be totally embarrassing when she wanted to.

"Setsuna-san is a very interesting individual," Kuroko commented slowly while the woman was still trying to smother him with her breast.

"Mom! Let go of Kuroko!" Kagami pulled the smaller teen back to free him from his mother's clutch.

"Aww, what a shame, he's very adorable too," Setsuna let go of Kuroko, but not before she poked Kuroko's nose with her beautiful slender index finger, with a witty smile on her face.

Kuroko huffed out a light chuckle at that. "I guess now I know where Kagami-kun's personality came from."

"What?" Kagami was confused as Setsuna laughed at that remark.

#

"So… why are you monopolizing Kuroko again?" Kagami looked at his mother in annoyance as she and Kuroko had been talking to each other about Kagami's childhood days while he made extra breakfast and tea for his mom.

Of course, it was after Kuroko had decidedly freshened himself up at the bathroom and changed into more suitable clothes to accompany his boyfriend's mother in the living room.

"Kagami-kun, you were very adorable as a child," Kuroko held up Kagami's baby pictures, hiding his amused smile behind the cute photos.

Kagami made an indignant embarrassed noise as he tried to take them all back while Setsuna was giggling uncontrollably on the couch. "I have his pictures with girls outfit as well," she declared and Kagami looked mortified while Kuroko was very interested to see them.

"I want to see." Oh yeah, Kuroko was _totally_ amused.

"NO!" Kagami refused vehemently, trying to stop his mother from bringing up such indecent topics and pictures.

"Isn't it okay? Tetsuya-kun won't think less of you after seeing them. You were five at that time anyway," Setsuna looked very pleased as well.

"Aaargh! Why are you always so happy to embarrass me, Mom?!" Kagami protested loudly, looking absolutely annoyed.

"Well, you are the cutest when you are embarrassed and blushing," Setsuna then hugged her taller son while ruffling his spiky red-black hair lovingly. "My precious little boy," she continued, now making a motherly expression that moved Kuroko so much.

Somehow, it made Kuroko miss his mom as well. Maybe he would tell his mom that he loved her when he got back home later. He gave the sweet view a soft, small smile as he watched the mother and son interact with each other.

Setsuna seemed to notice his look and she smiled while waving at him to come closer. "Come here, Tetsuya-kun. Let's look at Taiga's cute photos more," she grinned happily. Kagami made a protesting noise at that, and he was blushing again.

Somehow, Kuroko felt very happy that Kagami's mother wanted him there as well with them, even though he couldn't express it well with his expressionless face. So, Kuroko did just that to show his gratefulness. He went and sat closer to Kagami and Setsuna, where the older woman could ruffle his hair and fawn over him while making funny and witty remarks.

For a brief moment, Kuroko forgot about the deal with missing Akashi's call, drowned in the warmth of Kagami's family moment. However, another ring of the house bell disrupted the sweet moment and Kagami grunted as he aroused to get the door.

Setsuna was still looking at Kuroko with a soft smile before she spoke, "Thank you for taking care of Taiga all this time while his dad and I weren't around."

Kuroko was surprised at the sudden grateful words. "No… well, I think it is the other way around. He feeds me whenever I am over at his place…" he said slowly and honestly.

Setsuna chuckled at that. "Well, he can be a busybody for someone he cares about. No, I meant… you are probably the reason why he's been so spirited for the past year. He was pretty pissed off when we sent him back to Japan because he had to part with his friends in the States. Moreover, he said the level of basketball in Japan sucks," she laughed again at this. "But when he got into high school, he emailed us that there was this weird guy who suddenly claimed to be his shadow and that there was these miraculous people he was so excited to defeat in a basketball game and how much he enjoyed being in the Seirin basketball club. He sounded so happy when he chatted with us through the computers. I'd wanted to visit sooner to see how he was doing so far living alone in Japan while we're working overseas. Kinda worried if he would get involved with the wrong people, you know, being teenager and all. But now I see we didn't have anything to worry about since he's being taken care of. He's very good and healthy, and happy too, with you… and his friends here. So maybe his meeting with you was his salvation, somehow." Setsuna continued, once again setting that heartwarming gentle look on her face.

Kuroko actually blushed as he received such kind words from her. Even though it was faint enough to miss, but Setsuna seemed to know that he was embarrassed by her words. She chuckled again softly. "You really are adorable… although somehow, your character doesn't have any scent at all. I guess, that makes you more interesting," Setsuna's look towards Kuroko was full of consideration.

Now, it was Kuroko's turn to chuckle lightly. "Kagami-kun's personality really is inherited from you, huh? He said the same thing the first time we met," he said and it piqued her interest.

"Oh?" Setsuna's eyes sparkled slightly at that. "Now I want to hear the story of your fated first meeting," she giggled.

"Well…" Kuroko was about to tell her when Kagami entered again, bringing Himuro and Murasakibara back with him.

"Huh? Aunt Setsuna?" Himuro seemed very surprised as he met the older woman's crimson eyes.

"Ara, it's Tatsuya-kun. You're in Japan too?" Setsuna raised her eyebrows in surprise as well.

"Uh… there was a situation and…" Himuro smiled ruefully. He didn't seem to want to talk about it.

"Kuro-chin…" Murasakibara called Kuroko's name while nodding at him gravely.

And suddenly Kuroko was reminded once again by the deal with missing Akashi's call. "Excuse me for a moment." He immediately stood up and left Setsuna's side to approach the taller, purple haired boy.

"We have to speak with the others," Kuroko was serious as well when he said it and Murasakibara nodded in agreement without making any noise.

"More of your friends, Taiga?" Kuroko heard Setsuna voice asking in the background as he led Murasakibara outside.

"One of the miraculous guys I've been telling you…" Kagami's voice was quite muffled after that because Kuroko closed the door.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Midorima Shintarou skipped breakfast against his parents' wishes and Takao's whines. He had never disappointed his parents like that with his behavior before, but he didn't have a choice.

He needed to get out of the house and speak to his former teammates as soon as possible about the probability of the end of their lives after missing Akashi's call.

Well, according to Oha Asa, today was a bad day for Cancer. Just great. Now, even though it was very stupid of him for not having his lucky item of the day, he wasn't idiotic enough to believe that the lucky item could save him from Akashi's wrath.

Oh, no. Midorima believed that Oha-Asa and the lucky items would never fail to bring the best out of his day. It was just… Akashi was an exception for everything else. After all, Midorima had witnessed how Akashi had used his lucky item to almost stab a person in the eye. Of course Akashi did that knowing that Kagami would dodge, but still. It was Midorima's lucky item! And Akashi turned it into a weapon, damn it!

And now… now Midorima had missed his call. He missed Akashi's call! He obviously didn't want to take the risk of bringing any sharp objects anywhere near him, especially when the lucky item for the day was a pink flick-blade.

And Takao was whining non-stop behind him, aggravating him even more because Midorima was silently panicked. He had never before been this panicked in his life and Takao protesting about missing Midorima's mother's handmade breakfast didn't help any matter at all.

"Shut up, Takao! Don't you know I'm busy right now?!" So Midorima involuntarily raised his voice, irritated, angry and worried and… and he shocked Takao with the sudden outburst.

Takao blinked at him wonderingly for awhile before he snorted and started to laugh at Midorima, much to Midorima's indignation. "Shin-chan, you do realize that you sound ridiculous, right? I meant," another laugh, "- you are only walking on the street. What business are you possibly at?"

Midorima scowled at Takao. "I told you I missed Akashi's call."

"So what? It was just one missed call from your former captain. What are you fussing about?" Takao asked, giving him a ridiculous look, though he was mildly confused.

"You can say that because you don't know him like I do!" Midorima was getting even more annoyed now and he didn't realize that he raised his voice again, but he was quite surprised when Takao's face gradually turned serious before pouting.

"Shin-chan, are you trying to make me jealous?" Takao asked, looking somewhat annoyed.

"Haa? What the—? How come you concluded that from what I said, Takao?!" Midorima flushed hard at the ridiculous accusation.

"Obviously, because you're flaunting your past relationship with that guy, right?" Takao narrowed his eyes.

"Wha—? You—!" Midorima clenched his fist and his face was getting hotter. He was silent for a moment to calm himself down before he could blow up another fuss. "You're being unreasonable, Takao. Akashi is my former captain… there's nothing to be jealous of our relationship at all."

"Well, you said that, but you always do this, you know. No matter how inconvenient it is, you always receive call from him and immediately run to him the moment he wants to meet up. Try to think from my perspective, Shin-chan. I'm your boyfriend, but you obviously value him more than you do me," now Takao was sulking, planting the both of his hands on his waist and staring at him petulantly.

"How the hell—?!" Midorima didn't know what to say to this. Well, he was at fault too for not explaining properly how scary Akashi was when he was angry. But Takao was being absurd with the accusation. He let out a long deep sigh. "There's a reason why we… the GoM members can't ignore Akashi's call…" He averted his gaze after that, feeling hesitant if he could tell Takao this.

However, Midorima didn't want Takao to get the wrong idea about his and Akashi's relationship.

Takao didn't say anything as he kept staring at Midorima, seeming to urge him to explain it.

"We… owe Akashi our lives…" he said slowly, rather painfully as well.

Takao widened his eyes slightly at that. "What… do you mean by that…?"

Midorima looked down and started telling him the story about the past, the story that they vowed to never forget. The story that solidified their respect to their captain, no matter what other people said. Even though they were walking their own paths at the moment, only Akashi Seijuurou they would never betray.

"That's why… if you're against this kind of mindset, I don't think we will work out…" Midorima was prepared for this. After all, it was their vow, and a man wouldn't back down on his own oath.

So, if Takao couldn't accept that…then...

Although, Takao looked positively livid after he heard that. "As if I'd lose to that…!" He growled, surprising Midorima when he suddenly surged forward and pulled Midorima into a rough kiss, hugging the perplexed green haired boy tightly afterwards. "Shin-chan… your partner now is me. I'm not going to let you go and give you up just because of something like that. Even though your loyalty belongs to that guy, I won't let him have your heart as well. Because… Shin-chan's heart is mine!"

Midorima widened his eyes slightly at that. "Takao…"

"To hell and back, I'll always be with you, Shin-chan," Takao said surely and huffed in total confidence after that.

Midorima didn't know if his expression was in control because, really, Takao could say such embarrassing words with such a serious expression. His face felt very hot and his heart beat so fast he thought it would explode from all the excitement.

Wait, it wasn't like Midorima was excited about hearing his boyfriend being all possessive on him or something like that. It was just… well…!

"Y-yo-you are so embarrassing, Takao! Quit hugging me! People are going to stare!" Damn it! Did Midorima stutter just now?!

"People have already been staring since awhile ago, Shin-chan. Your raised your voice too much, that's why," Takao threw him a rueful chuckle after that, seeming to have calmed down quite a lot and gradually acquiring his playful side again.

Midorima didn't squeak, but he yelped in mortification at that. Takao laughed slightly before he grabbed Midorima's hand and pulled him to run away from the onlookers in the area who were obviously staring at them funnily.

"Shin-chan, you'll be okay. We'll be okay. If you put your faith and oath to that extent in Akashi Seijuurou, I'm sure he will understand why you miss his call once," Takao shouted while still running.

_Yeah, he surely will… But the punishment will be as severe! And, Takao… you don't know what Akashi Seijuurou is capable of doing outside basketball court! _—Midorima wanted to yell back at full force, but he wouldn't do an undignified thing like that. He (and Takao) already embarrassed him enough with their stunt earlier.

Well, at least now Takao knew why Midorima couldn't defy Akashi.

**End of Part 2**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**A/N: ***groans* I'm so sorry. This chapter is rather messed up. Moreover, I don't have any choice but to put up an OC (actually, there will be multiple OCs later) because I need their family to be around, especially Kagami's and Akashi's. There is a very good reason to that, I SWEAR! Uh… and there's no AoKise yet here… even Furihata can't show up yet even though it's supposed to be Akashi/Furihata fic T_T. Forgive me for that. Well, from the start it will be about Akashi and GoM, but I wish I could bring Furihata more into this as well. Maybe next chapter…

So, what do you think? Con-crits are very much needed!


	3. Part 3

**Disclaimer: luna doesn't own Kurobasu, Fujimaki-sensei does. Only plays with the characters. No profit is made from this fanfiction.**

**Warning: **_language, shounen ai/yaoi, OCs (for characters' family), possible oOC-ness, etc…_

**Beta: tora-chan83. **Thank you very much for helping me as always, dear!**  
**

**A/N: **Thank you very much again for your patience in waiting for this new chapter to come out. Also, I'm very grateful for all of your precious reviews, faves and alerts for this story, although I still can't seem to reply to it one by one *ugh*. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Signal**

_**Part 3**_

* * *

Aomine and Kise were sitting on the couch in the living room of Aomine's house. They were silent, both rather pale and emanating a gloomy aura as if the world would be ending moments later.

Well, in a way, their world would end soon… after they met Akashi in Ginza later.

Kise was on the verge of crying again as he tried to imagine their impending doom and Aomine sighed deeply, looking distressed. "Aomine-chi, no matter what happens later, I won't blame you for causing this," the blond said, sniffing.

A vein of irritation popped up on Aomine's head before he threw a dangerous glare at Kise. "Me, causing this, really_?_" he growled.

"Well, if you hadn't been so impatient last night, both our cell-phones wouldn't have been neglected outside your room and then we would have heard and answered his call," Kise sobbed pitifully.

Aomine scoffed. "As if you didn't enjoy _it_," he said sarcastically.

"I'd better write my will…" Kise didn't care anymore about the reasons now as he thumped his forehead on the armrest of the couch, already losing all hope to be off the hook. Aomine, on the other hand, scratched his head curtly at the situation, looking frustrated.

"Should we run away together?" Aomine suggested minutes later, breaking the very depressing silence.

It was one of the options left, but Kise didn't even consider the idea. He couldn't, not when he… and the others already vowed to never leave Akashi's side no matter what happened. Kise raised his face and looked upward at Aomine, disapproval and disappointment welling up inside his heart.

Aomine groaned when he saw Kise's expression. "Alright, stupid suggestion, I get it," he put his face on his palm, sighing again while looking aggravated. "I wished _he_ had never done that, back then…!"

Kise understood though. No matter what they did, it wouldn't be enough to repay their debt to Akashi. "Akashi-chi… won't harm us too much even if he will punish us later," he mumbled, trying to convince himself that it was true.

Except, Akashi had various ways of harming them without actually harming them physically, that is if the red haired captain decided not to use his scissors. Kise knew this, but he tried very hard to ignore the fact.

Aomine glanced at Kise slowly before reaching out to ruffle his hair. "At least we'd be together if he decides to do something detrimental," he said, not exactly comforting since the 'detrimental' part would still happen regardless of what they did. But Kise found Aomine's warm, big palm and his effort to reassure him very sweet.

Kise scooted closer to hug Aomine. "We should go to Kuroko-chi and the others. A strategy meeting is needed to face Akashi-chi. At least… to give him a reason why the five of us couldn't be reached at the same time," he sighed, feeling rather calm in Aomine's embrace.

_If only at least one of us had answered the call last night… then the situation wouldn't have been this dire._

Aomine nodded in silence and they stayed like that for a few more minutes before they parted to freshen up. Kise called his agency to tell them that he couldn't make it to the photo-shot because of a family emergency and Aomine immediately contacted Momoi to tell her the news.

Thirty minutes later, Momoi came to them with worried expression. "I tried to contact Akashi-kun earlier," she said informing the boys.

"And? Did he answer your call?" Aomine asked in alarm. Sadly, Momoi shook her head.

"But he texted me shortly after," Momoi said again. "He told me _not_ to come along to the gathering," she continued timidly, sounding very scared.

"Fuck," Aomine groaned, slapping his forehead.

"Should we bring Momoi-chi to a safer place?" Kise asked feeling pretty anxious as well. Who knew what Akashi was planning by excluding Momoi? "Akashi-chi knows Momoi-chi is Aomine-chi's weakness after all."

"There's no safer place for Satsuki except by my side. I won't let him do something to her, not again," Aomine gritted his teeth.

"Aomine-chi…" Kise reached out to hold Aomine's tense arm and put his head on the tan shoulder comfortingly. "It's alright. We will protect Momoi-chi… somehow," he tried to sound convincing, but his voice was too low. Even Kise himself couldn't hear any confidence in his tone.

"Let's… let's just go to where the others are first. Maybe if we gather together, we can find a solution to this problem," Aomine said, looking slightly indignant.

Kise and Momoi nodded in agreement before they proceeded to go to Kagami's house, a location which had earlier become the decided meeting point after Aomine and Kise texted Kuroko, Midorima and Murasakibara.

On the way to Kagami's apartment, Kise's group met Takao and Midorima, who also set their tense expressions. Honestly, Kise wanted to ask why Midorima didn't bring a lucky item with him, but he figured it was a retarded question because as obsessed as Midorima was with horoscopes and lucky items, those things would never work to solve or avoid any problem if it had something to do with Akashi.

Akashi Seijuurou defied the norm and universe; he was an exception to everything.

Thus in a fairly silent mood, except for the usual greetings and occasional chatters from Takao and Momoi (since Kise wasn't in the mood to chatter anyway), they arrived at Kagami's apartment complex. The five teens were immediately greeted by the sight of Kuroko and Murasakibara, already outside, talking and looking relatively serious.

"Kuroko-chi! Murasakibara-chi!" Kise immediately called to gain the smallest and the tallest teens' attention and they turned to give Kise's group a greeting as well.

"Good morning, Kise-kun, Aomine-kun, Midorima-kun, Takao-kun and Momoi-san," Kuroko said, politely as always.

"Kise-chin, Mine-chin, Momo-chin, Mido-chin and Mido-chin's chaperone," Murasakibara nodded to them as well.

"Chaperone?" Takao pointed at himself, looking rather put out. "It's Takao Kazunari," he huffed, almost pouting while looking upward and narrowing his eyes at the violet haired boy.

Murasakibara was silent for a long period staring dully at Takao before shrugging. "Okay," but he didn't seem inclined to call Takao by his name. Takao fumed while sulking at his response.

"So, we're here for _that_…" Midorima didn't seem to care about the argument between his boyfriend and his tallest ex-teammate and chose to focus his attention to their current problem.

"Yeah, Akashi-chi is pretty mad," Kise gulped feeling dreadful.

"He won't return my calls," Atsushi nodded looking helpless.

"He won't answer my calls either," Momoi sighed deeply.

"He did text Satsuki not to come along, though," Aomine informed and everyone turned their eyes to the Touou ace, including Kise, setting their somber rather grim expressions.

"Momoi-san is probably in danger, then…" Kuroko spoke lowly, tonelessly as usual.

"We really should bring Momoi-chi to safety first," Kise was very apprehensive now.

Momoi didn't do anything wrong, but the harshest punishment they could get from Akashi was if he decided to involve their beloved ex-manager because of their miss. They wouldn't be able to forgive themselves afterwards if something happened to Momoi.

It wasn't just that. Akashi was an expert in mind-games. It was possible that their current partners and boyfriends… and even their teammates in their respective high schools were also in danger.

"He still has approximately three hours to set up something while we're talking like this before we have to meet him," Midorima seemed to dread what would happen as well after they thought about the gap of time Akashi had scheduled.

"We should inform our senpais and fellow teammates to stay at home today so they won't run into Akashi-kun," Kuroko apparently agreed to what Midorima had implied and immediately suggested a solution.

"But Satsuki is our priority since she was used once, right? Where can we leave her safely?" Aomine asked, still looking mildly concerned while the pink haired girl took out her cell-phone to inform the Touou team members about the problem.

Kuroko seemed to contemplate something before he looked at the door to Kagami's apartment. "Let's assume that Akashi-kun has not been informed about our current 'relationship' with our respective partners. Moreover, an adult supervision will add to the safety," he spoke slowly and meaningfully with his dull voice.

"Huh?" Aomine looked confused.

"What do you mean, Kuroko-chi?" Kise also piped in, totally puzzled with what Kuroko was implying, though he was still on the phone with Kasamatsu.

"Kagami-kun's mother is in at this moment. If we explain our situation, she might want to help." Kuroko explained further, looking confident despite his deadpan stare.

The others looked at each other after they were done informing their teammates. Kise agreed immediately and completely with Kuroko's suggestion and the others seemed to follow suit because they were out of option. Besides, it was worth a try. They nodded at the same time as Takao sighed deeply at the GoM's antics.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Furihata Kouki was on the way to his elementary school reunion when his cell-phone buzzed. He fished out the device from his pocket and flipped the top open to see a new mail from his crush on the screen. He grinned in triumph as he opened the mail and read.

"_Kouki-kun, I'm sorry. I can't make it to our elementary reunion party today. Family emergency came up. Send my greeting and regard to our old friends!"_

Furihata frowned as he saw that. "Aww… Sasaki-chan won't come?" He was very disappointed.

Imai Sasaki was Furihata's childhood friend as well as his life-long crush. They went to kindergarten, elementary and middle school together and they lived pretty nearby to each other. He liked her like… a lot. He had confessed several times to be her boyfriend, but up until their middle school graduation, he was always rejected for one reason: he was boring.

Thus, when Furihata was entering high school, he tried once again and promised to be the man she would really like. She then said she would consider him to be her boyfriend, if he at least could be passionate and good at one subject, preferably a sport. That was actually his main purpose on entering Seirin basketball club afterwards.

Furihata was averagely good in basketball. Well, obviously not as miraculous as the Generation of Miracles or as good as Kagami or the other seniors for that matter, but at least in the matter of dribbling or shooting, he was better than Kuroko _at first_ (since Kuroko didn't do anything but pass the ball around, and that itself was already as amazing as the other GoM member's special skill that it couldn't be copied without meticulous and rigorous training), but now Kuroko was armed with the vanishing drive and phantom shot, so… Furihata couldn't say he was better than Kuroko at it anymore.

Furihata wasn't a complete amateur either in the sport though. He trained as hard as the regulars and he hated losing just as much as they did (a trait that was in Seirin players' flesh and blood apparently). Plus, he would be ready to substitute for a player in court if he was needed anytime.

In short, Furihata might not be a basketball expert, but standing on the same side of the Seirin players: watching, hearing and feeling with them, trying to help as much as he could for the best of their performance from the sidelines, Furihata came to realize that he loved the Seirin team and the sport itself.

Before long, Furihata's initial purpose of getting a girlfriend was forgotten. Well, not entirely. He still wanted a girlfriend, preferably Sasaki-chan, but that wasn't the main purpose of why he stayed on the Seirin basketball club anymore.

_Let's be number one in Japan!_

Furihata grinned as he remembered the ambition of the seniors and Kagami… and the mysterious writing at the front yard of Seirin High (who or whatever wrote it and caused that ruckus, had become part of one of the seven mysteries in Seirin High). It sounded a bit corny and overrated, but somehow, he wanted to believe that it could come true, especially since they worked so hard to realize that dream.

Furihata Kouki was a person who knew his limits. However, if the entire Seirin basketball team combined all their effort together, he was confident that they could reach almost anything, including that dream. Now, getting a girlfriend was Furihata's second aim. More than anything, he wanted to help as much as he could so that the Seirin basketball team could be number one in Japan.

Furihata typed on his phone and sent a reply back to Sasaki. _"Kay. No prob, Sasaki-chan! Meet you later at noon?"_

A few seconds later, another ping informed Kouki that she replied. _"Sorry, can't today. Maybe next week?"_

Kouki sighed, rather dissatisfied. They weren't in the same high school, so it was kind of hard to make time together. But next week sounded good. Next Wednesday would be the start of the winter break anyway. He quickly typed back. _"See you next week then!"_

Finishing the conversation, Furihata closed the lid and put his cell-phone back inside his pocket. He looked at the snowy sky and sighed deeply once again. "And I wanted to ask her out on a date too after the party…" He pouted, sulking slightly. However, he shrugged it off soon after and continued walking down the road in Ginza.

At some point, Furihata passed the road in front of a deserted park and his eyes immediately caught a sight of someone sitting leisurely and quietly on one of the benches, looking upward at the sky with a cold expression on his face.

Furihata blinked once before gradually a dreadful feeling of abomination climbed down sickeningly to his stomach from his eyes as his brain recognized who it was he was seeing. That person… of course Furihata would know him. He had met him several times from afar, and only once from a closer range, but the other guy probably (obviously) didn't care who Furihata was.

Furihata was no one important, but that boy… that red haired teen with mismatched colored eyes, was a celebrity in the basketball circle. He was the strongest high school player that had ever walked on earth, the captain of the infamous Generation of Miracles, Akashi Seijuurou.

_Why is the GoM's captain here?!_—Furihata was totally freaking out as he immediately hid himself behind the wall at the speed of light before Akashi could spot him.

Okay, Akashi probably wouldn't even have care if he walked in front of him, but damn it! Cut him some slack! It was Akashi Seijuurou for God's sake! Furihata had almost pissed his pants when he saw the guy for the first time at close range because he was so damn scary! Akashi had almost stabbed Kagami's eyes for a petty reason! And, and… that guy gave Furihata nightmares whenever the shorter boy remembered those evil endless dichromatic pools that could throw anyone into the bottomless pit of despair if they were the target of his dagger glare.

Furihata's heart was thudding in his ribcage like crazy and he had difficulty breathing. He was officially panicking now and being unnecessarily hyperbolic. But, since it was Akashi Seijuurou he was talking about… and hell if Furihata wasn't fucking scared of Akashi. Seriously, it was lame, but he wasn't ashamed at all to admit that he was terrified of Akashi Seijuurou.

Furihata was trying to calm himself now. He was sure he moved fast enough before Akashi saw him, so it was probably safe for him to continue walking (even though he had to turn 180 degrees away and go to a different, further road) and never look back again.

Closing his eyes carefully, Furihata took a deep intake of air before slowly letting it out as a breathing maneuver to calm his nerves. Five (or ten) cycles later, he was ready to move on with his life. He opened his eyes and intended to walk away when he caught a sight of some people… older people who were dressed like gangsters (_Really? At this age and time?_) like the kind in classic gangster movies with the pomade hair and ridiculous over-long clothes.

_Maybe they are just cosplayers…—_it was just a thought, whispered in Furihata naïve mind, although it was very unlikely.

They entered the park leisurely, apparently it was their hang out spot because no one went there anymore, and it was a perfect place for them to do… whatever gangsters usually do during their free time.

Of course, one of the gangsters immediately noticed Akashi sitting on the bench, minding his own business, which was doing nothing at the moment except for staring at the white, grayish snowy sky. Akashi's presence was really imposing even though he was doing nothing.

But Furihata only wondered why the red haired teen didn't feel cold at all despite the powder of snow falling down on, and around him, even though their breath turned into white puffs whenever they exhaled.

"What's this brat doing here?"

A cranky voice from one of the gangsters snapped Furihata out of his reverie. Then he realized that this was a very bad situation as one by one, those gangsters began to walk towards Akashi's direction.

"Get lost, shortie. This area isn't a place for a midget like you to hang out."

The ugly, mocking laughter that followed the insult afterwards made Furihata cringe in horror. Oh, those poor guys. They didn't know who they were messing with. Calling Akashi Seijuurou 'shortie' and 'midget' was the worst move ever, especially since it was the worst kind of insult to the very proud GoM's captain.

They were going to die, officially.

As much as Furihata didn't care about those guys' well being and as desperate as he was to walk… _run_ away from that place because he didn't want to get involved in the upcoming violence that would surely occur, he was frozen solid on the ground when a dark aura began to emanate from the red-haired teen at the center of the gangsters' attention. Along with his growing anger, Akashi was slowly straightening his body.

Akashi Seijuurou then smiled, no… It was a _smirk_; a devilish super _evil_ smirk which made Furihata's body hairs stand on end permanently.

"What did you call me?" Akashi Seijuurou's eerie, almost hissing voice sliced through their taunts. As his dichromatic eyes set their deadly gaze on the gangsters, they visibly recoiled. The good fighters (which was only one out of the ten) immediately recognized the chill of killing intent in those slit _kitsune _(1) pupils and the stupid ones mistook their body shivering as a result of the cold weather at that moment.

Akashi chuckled darkly. "Great timing, I was just getting bored with waiting for my minions," another icy tone, latched with terrible amusement and intimidating fury at the same time ensued, traumatizing them. This thought immediately wormed its way into Furihata's conscience.

Thus, even though Furihata really, _really_ didn't want to involve himself in this mess, he had to do something before Akashi would commit murder right there and then, in front of his eyes. He almost cursed his own family for raising him so well.

Furihata didn't know if he was a decent guy or a BIG MORON as he suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs the moment he saw the glint of metal in the shape of scissors in Akashi's grasp. "MR. POLICE MAN! IT'S RIGHT HERE! HURRY! THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS!"

Most of the gangsters snapped toward the voice in shock at the shout. They immediately broke in a hasty, reckless run to get away before they could get arrested while cursing obscenities to the 'fucking snitch' and to the occasional 'damn police' and the 'stupid red haired midget' and they'd better remember them because 'they would come back to kick their asses' or something like that.

Furihata was panting hard and sweating bullets as he showed himself from behind the wall. Akashi Seijuurou's deadly glare was focused on him now. _HIIIIIIIII!_—Furihata was squeaking inwardly (or maybe literally) as he thought that he would die; he would die; he _would_ DEFINITELY DIE on the spot by the hand of Akashi Seijuurou.

It was like Furihata was being stared at by Medusa's eyes. He was stoned. He was cracked. Furihata was sure he would pass out any moment now because he couldn't breathe under that maddeningly terrorizing stare.

"You did an unnecessary thing." Akashi spoke, not even raising his tone, but the effect of Furihata's own overactive imagination was too powerful to ignore. He just couldn't help feeling that he would get killed unless he did something drastic and excessive to show his forgiveness.

"I'M SO SORRY!" The shorter brown haired teen felt the need to go into _dogeza_ (2) position as he apologized because Furihata was just that frightened. "For… for doing unnecessary thing that hindered your path, but I meant no harm, I swear! Please don't kill me! My team still needs me!"

_Even if it's just to help them and cheer for them from the bench!—_Furihata's whole body was shaking in fear at what would become of him after this.

Surprisingly, Akashi was silent as he looked down at Furihata. His expression was unreadable. Not that Furihata could see, much less read Akashi at all because he was a psycho. No one would understand him, not even a shrink. "What are you doing?"

Even more surprisingly, because Furihata didn't expect such question from the Akashi Seijuurou, Akashi's voice was calm enough. There was no hint of anger or anything in his questioning tone.

"E-eh?" Furihata was slowly raising his face to look upward at Akashi who was still staring down at him with a frown,probably also looking down on him because that was what Akashi Seijuurou does, look down on people.

"Why are you apologizing in dogeza position in a place like this?" _Is he a retard?—_was implied, but Akashi completely regarded Furihata as one at that moment because Furihata could see it in his judging scary mismatched eyes.

"B-but… aren't you angry with me?" Furihata couldn't help asking because he was confused.

"Why would I be angry at you? I don't even know who you are," Akashi asked again, responding accordingly and surprisingly (again) much more polite than Furihata had expected.

"Huh?" Then it dawned to Furihata when he digested Akashi's words.

_He doesn't even remember who I am!_—Furihata slapped his both cheeks ridiculously, because seriously. Furihata was an idiot. _Of course Akashi Seijuurou won't remember me! He didn't even bother to know my name the first time we met at the opening of the winter cup!_

The one who made an impression was Kagami and not Furihata. Of course Akashi Seijuurou wouldn't even remember his face because Furihata's existence was that insignificant to him.

_I'm so embarrassed I could die!_—Furihata was mortified by this.

"Wait, I know you."

Furihata winced as he heard the sudden change of tone from the redhead.

"Yes… I met you before. I didn't hear your name but… you are one of the Seirin guys… Tetsuya's teammate, the one he brought to our previous gathering before Kagami Taiga interrupted us." Now Akashi smirked again, his expression and tone turning rather haughty.

"Uh… yes, that would be me," Furihata nodded before he slowly raised his body to stand up, dusting the powder of snow off of his coats and scarf. He was trying not to look at Akashi's eyes as he spoke because he remembered what Akashi did to Kagami when he looked into Akashi's eyes. Akashi would push him down if he tried.

Akashi then looked at Furihata critically in silence and suddenly Furihata felt as if he were a display instead of a person. It was very awkward and downright scary. He just wanted to bolt away from there!

"Hmm… so taking a closer look you are actually shorter than me," Akashi commented slowly, eyes calculating. Furihata had never once thanked god for his relatively short body, but at that moment, he felt like he was the luckiest guy on earth for being at least 3 cm shorter than Akashi Seijuurou. He knew it. The guy was sensitive about his height!

"So… why did you stop them just now? You didn't think I could take care of myself?" Akashi started the interrogation.

Okay, it was probably just a normal question, but for the scared Furihata it felt like he was being interrogated in a trial. If he answered wrong, he would surely be deemed guilty and executed!

"Um… I was more afraid for their lives instead of yours…" Furihata opted to be honest about it since he was terrible at lying and he got a hunch that Akashi would see right through him with those Emperor eyes of his.

Akashi was silent again, looking at Furihata as if he was the most ridiculous sight on earth before he brought his hand in front of his mouth. The corners were slightly twitching up for some reason and a suddenly an amused chuckle escaped his lips.

_Oh my god! Akashi Seijuurou is chuckling!_—was fleeting across Furihata's disbelieving mind, but like hell if he would voiced that out. He still valued his life. Thank you very much.

Well, Furihata didn't expect that Akashi could make such an expression, but somehow, it lessened his worry about his life a little bit. Akashi continued to chuckle for a moment before his amused gaze was back on him. "You are more interesting than I thought. Fearing for delinquents' lives instead of their apparent victim… You unexpectedly knew me well, huh?" Another chuckle, and this time Furihata couldn't help noticing how those dichromatic eyes turned alive and his heart skipped a beat.

_Huh?_—Furihata was slightly confused about what just happened. Did his heart just…? _HUH?_

"So, you know what I'm capable of doing. Am I that scary in your eyes?" Akashi seemed totally amused as he questioned him again. He took pleasure in terrifying people apparently, a total sadistic type.

Furihata wanted to say he was frightened of Akashi's very being as he heard the question, but something made him change his decision. First, it was because his heart reacted rather strangely when he saw Akashi's face. He couldn't put his finger on it, but… it was something specific and different. He might have been delusional and totally read it wrong, but still… Furihata decided to carefully pick his words after that to answer it.

"It's… it's not that I'm afraid of _you _especially, it's just… I'm afraid of your behavior… your aptitude… I think…" Furihata encouraged himself to look upward slightly at Akashi's eyes, who blinked once. His expression was one which didn't expect that kind of answer.

Maybe Furihata was really fucking _nuts_ for trying to act cool. But, honestly, it wasn't a lie. If Akashi wasn't capable of hurting people for fun, then he wouldn't be afraid.

Akashi smirked again afterwards. "What a ridiculous answer," he said before sitting back on the bench.

Furihata didn't know what to do now. Was it alright if he just went away? "Um… I have to go," he intended to just retreat, but was immediately stopped as Akashi's sharp eyes hardened on him.

"Who said you could just leave?" the red haired teen's voice had turned back to that chilling tone. Furihata flinched and turned around again.

"I have a reunion party to attend…" Furihata was despairing now. He really wanted to leave damn it!

"That's your problem. I'm bored with three hours to kill. You ruined my entertainment just now by stopping them. Now, you will entertain me," Akashi ordered, his smirk widening.

"Wha—?!" Furihata gaped in shock. What an unreasonable request! "But…!"

"Are you trying to defy me?" Akashi's smirk turned eviler now, and there was an edge in his voice that indicated a threat of bodily harm if Furihata even dared to spout a complaint, so the shorter boy could only nod with tears in his eyes.

"What do you want to do…?" Furihata sighed deeply as he surrendered. There was no way he could escape from the red head's clutches now.

"What, I wonder…" There was a glint of pure wickedness in his eyes. Furihata grimaced as those dichromatic eyes were trained on him calculatingly.

After a heavy long silence, Furihata gave up thinking about bad stuff. He wasn't cut for that so he just tried to accept his fate (and retribution for acting reckless without thinking. He wasn't Kagami for god's sake!). Furihata then noticed that even though Akashi was clothed quite thickly, he must have been in the snow for quite some time because his fairly pale skin was slightly red from the cold air.

There was no harm in trying to escape the cold air, right? After all, Furihata was cold as well.

"Um… will it be okay if I take you somewhere? I meant… it's quite cold right here, right? How about we drink something warm in the café?" Furihata suggested.

Akashi raised one of his eyebrows. "Not a bad idea. Though, you're quite weak to the cold, huh?" He then slowly stood up again.

Furihata laughed slightly, sheepishly, a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. "Yes, that's right." He wasn't going to say that he was actually warmer than Akashi at the moment. He also wasn't going to admit that he didn't want the other teen to catch cold. He would just go along with whatever Akashi wanted to say. It was easier that way.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Himuro was drinking a cup of warm tea (made by Kagami, of course) leisurely sitting on the couch while Setsuna was re-ordering the family photo albums she had brought out earlier on the bookshelves in the living room. Kagami sat beside Himuro, still staring at him carefully. He hadn't yet said anything after they settled down on the couch.

After a very uncomfortable silence, Kagami opened a conversation. "So… do you have something to tell me, Tatsuya?" he asked slowly.

Himuro raised his eyebrows at that, rather confused. "Hmm? About what?" he asked back.

"Like if I should I call you my sister instead of my brother," Kagami blurted out without tact. Himuro would have dropped the damn cup if it wasn't for his awesome self-control.

Himuro put down the cup and took a deep breath before he narrowed his eyes at Kagami, pretty mad and disappointed. "You went through my stuff, didn't you?" Of course he had to accuse since that was probably the reason why Kagami was talking stupid nonsense like this.

Kagami had the decency to look ashamed and guilty, but then, apparently he was resolute enough to get the whole story and the truth. "I'm sorry, but your words about your condition for moving to Japan worried me. I was curious and thought you were sick or something, so I took a look at the letter from the hospital lab when I accidentally saw it as I was trying to close your bag," he began to explain.

Himuro rested his back on the backrest and listened to the redhead as he recited his epic experience last night when Himuro was talking to Kuroko and Murasakibara.

"I didn't understand any of the shit in the test results on that paper at first, except for how the letter was addressed to '_her' _instead of to '_him'_ even though your name was there as the recipient. I thought it was just a silly, hilarious misunderstanding because you could be such a woman sometimes (_"Hey!" _Himuro protested at that). But then, I was suddenly held hostage by those GoM bastards because they got the wrong idea about our relationship –by the way, that was your fault for carelessly kissing me outside, you asshole– and they went through your stuff too because they thought you were staying here so we could… you know. They thought I was cheating on Kuroko with you. You have no idea how scary they were when they went into mother-hen mode." Kagami shuddered and looked very pale as he got to that part. Himuro suddenly felt bad at what happened to him.

_Maybe I should talk to them as well to clear misunderstanding, huh…?_

"But thanks to Takao, they were convinced that we, _you and I_, are just _brothers_ and nothing more. I could kiss that guy if it wasn't for the fact that it would be cheating on Kuroko." Kagami sighed in relief before he looked at Himuro again. "Midorima then started to babble about intersexuality shit as he explained about your condition after reading the test result. So… do you have something to say, Tatsuya?" His tone was grave now.

Kagami didn't sound judging, but he looked serious and rather sad. Himuro sighed again, smiling ruefully at him. "Are you angry, Taiga?"

Kagami flinched. "Rather than angry… I'm more sad and helpless. We've known each other for almost ten years, Tatsuya. Why didn't you say a damn thing? Am I that untrustworthy?" He sounded miserable.

"In my defense, I only knew about it when I was fifteen," Himuro confessed. Kagami looked upward at him in surprise. "This intersexuality condition was confusing. _I_ also thought I was a guy for fifteen years, you know, before my body started to act strangely at specific periods of time. My body wasn't cooperating with my brain. I felt sluggish. My head hurt all the time. I was getting angry and antsy for no reason and the peak of that was when you purposely lost to me and suddenly moved back to Japan. I was at my worst and one day I passed out from an intense pain in my stomach. I thought it was an ulcer from stress, but when I was brought to a doctor, imagine how shocked I was when the doctor said it was actually my first period."

…

…

"Eh?" Kagami could only widen his eyes in a dumbfounded look, but Himuro didn't want to humor him by explaining what he meant by 'period' there.

Instead, Himuro continued. "My parents were panicking and I went into depression after knowing that I'm an XX instead of an XY even though I have male reproduction organs. You know, I thought I was just a freak. It was bad, Taiga. It was really bad. I had to take a leave from school because I couldn't face reality. I had to do therapy sessions with a psychiatrist to try to accept the fact, but… I couldn't. I just couldn't. I am a man. There's no doubt in my belief that I am a man. But with a body like this… can I still be a man? I even toyed with the idea that this body would be the limit of my ability to grow stronger. I wouldn't be able to reach your level with this kind of body and I was so angry, so angry that I just…!"

Himuro was surprised when he was suddenly enveloped in a hug. Strong reassuring arms were around him. He widened his eyes as he realized that he was crying and Kagami was holding him close in a tight embrace. "You are a man, Tatsuya. No one will think otherwise or think less of you even with that condition."

Himuro didn't know what to say to that. His tears just kept coming out and dripping, wetting his cheeks. He clenched Kagami's clothes, holding him back while burying his face on Kagami's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably like a child. It was embarrassing that he was crying. It was shameful for him to show how weak… how vulnerable he was and part of Himuro thought that it was his _woman's_ instinct to act like this.

Even though Himuro had decided to be a man, to continue to being a man, knowing that part of him was still a woman was very frustrating. He had a man's built, had a man's heart, but sometimes, his body was just like that when his hormones were unstable.

"It's alright, Tatsuya. My feelings for you won't change. You are still my strong brother and you'll always be my brother that I look up to. You can count on me for that," Kagami said again, not yet releasing his hug from Himuro.

Himuro chuckled slightly as he was calming down a bit. "Yeah, you can count on me too. I won't lose… even with a body like this. I won't lose to you, Taiga," he promised himself, Kagami, Murasakibara and Yousen to stay strong. Next time he would defeat Seirin and even the other GoM.

Kagami laughed slightly at that. "Come to us at full force, big bro," he grinned, and Himuro couldn't help smiling again as he saw how wide and sincere Kagami's grin was. It was kind of catching, Kagami's smile.

"Thank you, Taiga," Himuro was relieved and grateful that Kagami didn't think less of him because of that stupid condition. He was alright now. He could move on.

It was true that Himuro had the operation to remove the woman's part of his body. The hormonal therapy was also helping him figure out the strange feelings and stabilize his body function.

The wall that Himuro built around him to protect himself could slowly be removed now that he knew it was okay to stay as a man despite his worry at first. Now he could move on with his life and he would surely enjoy it to the fullest, living every moment.

"Well, it's probably nothing, but maybe the reason why Tatsuya always prefers men over women is because of this…" Kagami involuntarily mumbled out loud. A vein popped up on Himuro's head.

Himuro was still smiling sweetly though when he reached out his hands to Kagami's cheeks and then pinched and stretched them wholeheartedly. "Is it this mouth that spoke just now, huh?" Of course he could be quite unmerciful when he decided to torture Kagami.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! It's gona rip! Gonna teaaaaar!" Kagami was howling painfully at the treatment to his cheeks. But before Himuro could release him, a warm caring hand made its way to pat and caress Himuro's head.

Himuro blinked once before he looked up to the owner of that hand. He was immediately met by Setsuna's soft, understanding expression. "Aunt Setsuna…?" He didn't know since when she had been listening to their conversation, but she seemed very thoughtful about it.

"You have worked hard, huh, Tatsuya-kun?" Setsuna kept her comforting gesture and Himuro really appreciated it. He just smiled and leaned closer to her motherly touch. It had been awhile since he felt a mother's touch, so…

"I talked to your parents, you know. They said you are welcomed to come back to them if you have sorted out your thoughts," Setsuna continued. Himuro was honestly surprised at the news.

"Mom, you knew about Tatsuya's condition?" Kagami asked in surprise as well.

"Of course, since the first time the news came out. Tatsuya-kun's mother is my close friend after all," Setsuna replied with a small smile.

"And you _forgot_ to mention it to me for the past two years?" Kagami sounded indignant, protesting at her.

"I figured Tatsuya-kun would want to tell you himself if he was ready. It was better that way because Tatsuya-kun was still struggling with it at that time," Setsuna smiled ruefully at Kagami now.

"Yes, Taiga. I wanted to tell you myself when I was ready. I am glad I could tell you with my own mouth about this," Himuro supported Setsuna's reasoning. "My parents were panicking you know… that the heir of their family fortune was born a freak. It was hard on them… so I couldn't speak to them for several months. Aunt Setsuna helped a lot at that time by introducing a good psychiatrist and occasionally, she listened to my problems too. I'm… very grateful, Aunt Setsuna," he continued softly.

"Tatsuya…" Kagami seemed touched by Himuro's confession and Setsuna kept her soft smile while ruffling Himuro's hair lovingly.

"Tatsuya-kun is my son's beloved 'brother' after all. I already regard you as my own," Setsuna said, widening her smile before hugging Himuro and Kagami's neck with both arms. She seemed very happy and content as well with it and Himuro couldn't help feeling very warm in her embrace.

"Mom!" Kagami looked rather embarrassed, but he looked happy as well.

At that time, Himuro couldn't help thinking that they felt more like his real family than his biological parents…

**End of Part 3**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**Additional Notes:**

**1)**_**Kitsune**_**: **fox

**2)**_**Dogeza**_**: **it's a kneeling position while bowing until the forehead touches the ground, a formal apologizing or _worshipping_ position in Japan (at least, that's what I get an impression of *lol*)

**A/N:** Okay, honestly I didn't know where to cut this chapter since there are tons that I want to write here *ugh* Well, at least there's some Aka/Furi even though it's general enough. As I thought, Akashi's personality was _very_ hard to write. I hope he doesn't sound too oOC or _wrong _here; and of course Furihata as well. I hope he sounds like the real Furihata since I don't know much about him. Well, what do you think of this chapter? The next will be the real meeting of Akashi and the others~ I hope I can write the scenes well later~


	4. Part 4

**Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki-sensei. Luna only plays with the characters~**

**Warning: **_AU, slight oOC, language, yaoi, OCs alert (for the family members), Akashi (and his family *lol*), etc…_

**Beta: tora-chan38. **Thank you sooo much! I couldn't have done this nicely without your help!

**A/N: **Uh… I don't know what to say. All I know is this chapter turned rather unexpected even for me… Well, I'll just let you readers decide for me then… Oh! And your WONDERFUL reviews from the last chapter really made my day (if only I had time to reply them *ugh*). Thanks a lot for all the faves and alerts too! Saa, enjoy this new chapter!

* * *

**Signal**

_**Part 4**_

* * *

Furihata was staring at the café in front of him.

The brunet was staring and just that, _staring_. He didn't make any move to enter the café from his spot even though Akashi was strolling inside casually as if he owned the place.

Akashi noticed that Furihata didn't follow him a moment later, so he stopped and turned around to look at the shorter boy with a raised eyebrow, as if he were asking him what he was doing standing still while making such a ridiculous face like a fool in front of the café.

"Um… this shop is… that place where you can buy a cup of coffee if you have _at least_ 1000 yen* on you, right?" Furihata was sweating profoundly. He couldn't even pronounce the name of the café right since it was in foreign language.

_Strălucitoare de Via__ț__ă _(1). From what language was that?

"Is there a problem?" Akashi asked eloquently as if he were the normal one.

"Uh…" Furihata was gulping and twitching hesitantly. Akashi did realize that he… _they_ were high school students, right? There was just no way that an ordinary guy like Furihata had enough money to buy a cup of coffee from the café in front of him, let alone to buy anything else on the menu.

They could buy ten cans of coffee from the vending machine for a single cup of coffee in that café after all.

Akashi seemed to read his mind (or expression, but Furihata wouldn't be surprised if Akashi could see inside other people's heads since he already could see the _future_ movement of his opponent with _his eyes_ anyway) as he smiled slightly.

Furihata honestly didn't know if Akashi was looking down on him again, but there was something different in the way he spoke to him. "Money isn't an issue. Hurry and get in. You are obstructing the way by standing there unmoving," the redhead gestured for him to move and Furihata didn't have enough balls to object despite the unsettling feeling in his stomach.

"I don't think I will be able to order anything in this place. Why can't we settle down at the more…_normal_ café?" Furihata decided to ask after they sat down at the table near the stage. Yes, the café had a live-show stage for a band or a recital to perform. There was an actual grand piano on it, damn it! High school students shouldn't hang out in a place like that!

Moreover, most of the customers inside the store were foreign people, _adult foreign people_. This was getting too intimidating for Furihata's comfort.

"This is normal café," Akashi said in a dismissing tone as he gestured for the waiter to come to their table.

"Uh, but…" Furihata cringed as Akashi gave him a warning look. He immediately shut up with teary eyes as the waiter arrived.

Akashi then ordered something which, _again_, Furihata wouldn't be able to pronounce without any practice. Then when the waiter looked at Furihata with expectant look, the teen stiffened, not knowing what to do.

"He'll have the same as me," Akashi said with a small smile to the waiter.

"I will process your order then, Seijuurou-sama. Please wait for a moment," the waiter said before he bowed slightly and went off to place the order.

_Seijuurou-sama? Using his first name? What a familiar way to call a customer. Is Akashi a frequent customer or something?_—Furihata wondered and then gasped as he remembered that Akashi had ordered on his behalf without even consulting to him first! What if Furihata didn't like the drink? Or worse, couldn't pay for the order?

Apparently, Akashi really could read his expression very well because he shook his head at the horrified expression Furihata had set. "I said money isn't an issue here. Would you stop looking so foolish?"

Furihata snapped his dropped jaw shut and looked at Akashi's calm face awkwardly. _F-foolish, really?_—but he didn't dare to complain on that of course.

They were quiet for a few moments until Furihata couldn't stand the heavy silence anymore and decided to make a small talk. "Uh… are you… a frequent customer in this café or something?" he started.

"You could say that. But, it is more about my family being the benefactor of this café when the owner built it from scratch until it became the most prominent café in this country," Akashi answered, not looking at Furihata as he seemed to choose to observe the people inside the café.

_Of course it'd be something like that…—_Furihata's sweat dropped. He was an idiot to not expect that kind of answer.

"So, you chose this café because you will get a discount?" Furihata tried to lighten the mood by joking around a bit.

"Of course not; it is simply because the coffee at the low-class cafés doesn't suit my taste," Akashi smirked leisurely.

_L-low class…—_Furihata felt rather depressed just by hearing such degrading words about other cafés.

Well, Furihata wasn't exactly a coffee fan since he hated bitter beverages. The brunet would choose tea or milk over coffee, but he did enjoy some lattes or cappuccinos once in awhile in some ordinary cafés. It wasn't fair to regard those cafés as 'low-class' just because Akashi's tongue was too delicate to enjoy the menus there.

"You… have you never gone to an ordinary family restaurant with your family?" Furihata asked tentatively, trying not to pry or anything, but he did feel rather peeved at the way Akashi looked down on things he probably had never tried.

Akashi was silent for a long moment at that. His eyes turned rather nostalgic for some reasons. "I have…" The redhead answered surprisingly a positive remark while lowering his gaze. He seemed to reminiscence about something wonderful because his expression softened slightly.

Furihata's heart skipped a beat again. _Holy fu—! Even Akashi Seijuurou can make such expression?!_—he really didn't see that coming. _M-more over that expression is kinda…_

Furihata didn't know what happened, but his heart was beating rather hard and fast against his ribcage as he saw it, his face heating slightly, totally astonished. Well, who would blame him? All this time, Furihata always thought that Akashi was like a cold-blooded human weapon, but… apparently, he was wrong.

Furihata honestly didn't know what Akashi was thinking when he made such gentle expression, but it must have been something very dear to him. Because that expression was very wonderful… he should definitely smile like that more!

Akashi seemed to notice Furihata's stunned silence and his amazed stare; so once again he set his unreadable gaze on him. "Did anyone ever tell you that you are such a boring person?" He asked and those familiar words stabbed Furihata in the chest.

"Uh… some people have said that before…" Furihata felt like crying again because those _some people_ included his crush. But since he was used to such comments by now, he quickly recovered. "Akashi-kun… ah, may I call you Akashi-kun?" He almost forgot that he just couldn't address Akashi as he liked. Maybe he should put _-sama_ at the end of his name?

"Oh, right, where are my manners? I forgot to ask your name as well," Akashi chuckled slightly and nodded swiftly after that to answer Furihata's question. "Akashi-kun is alright. What about yours?"

"Ah, it-it's Furihata Kouki," Furihata was surprised that Akashi wanted to know his name at all.

"I see. It's Kouki then," Akashi casually addressed, making Furihata wince.

_Suddenly using my first name?_—Furihata was slightly bewildered. Not even his teammates called him by his first name yet!

"What?" Akashi raised his eyebrows in response to another one of Furihata's strange expression.

"Um… I'm just… rather surprised. Somehow, Akashi-kun is not like what I always thought he was…" Furihata said slowly.

"Ooh? And what kind of _person _did you previously think I was like?" Akashi seemed interested as his dichromatic eyes glinted vaguely.

Furihata gulped. He wanted to avert his gaze, but those dangerous eyes seemed to have a hypnotic force that kept his sight from straying. It was captivating, as if he couldn't defy Akashi's order as long as he was trapped in those brilliant, endless mismatched pools.

"Are you turning mutt now?" Akashi's voice brought Furihata back from his reverie with a little jump from his seat and a surprised squawk.

"S-sorry, uh… right, what I thought about Akashi-kun was… umm," Furihata was choosing his words again, not wanting to offend Akashi too much despite his actual thoughts. "I thought you were rather, um… cold a-and stoic, err… and a little bit heartless…" His voice was getting quieter as he went on and it was only slightly above a whisper at the end.

Akashi didn't seem mad as he regarded the answer. "Well, you weren't exactly wrong," he said as if it was very amusing instead, his eyes still luminous.

"No, but… if you were really like that, you wouldn't make those expressions…" Furihata argued slightly.

"What expressions are you talking about?" Akashi asked with easy smile.

Furihata was surprised at that. Didn't Akashi notice? "Well… for once, you made a gentle look, and if you were heartless, you wouldn't get angry by people's insults…"

Akashi raised his eyebrows again. "Who said I was angry?"

"But… you were angry at those thugs, weren't you? F-for mocking your… you know," Furihata shrugged. He didn't want to mention something that related to _height _in front of Akashi, but he was also starting to feel confused at Akashi's unexpected reaction.

Akashi smirked at that. "I told you. I was bored. I just wanted to play with them," he licked his slightly chapped lips and somehow, his face turned rather sadistic, causing Furihata to shiver when he saw it.

_Right… he is a psycho! I almost forgot!_—Furihata's tears almost welled up again. He was feeling very scared, but he suppressed it with sheer will power so as not to _humor_ the red haired teen in front of him, because he would definitely take pleasure in making him cry, damn it!

"Uh… s-so what brought you in town, Akashi-kun…?" Furihata asked again, trying to change the direction of their conversation since he was sure it would turn into something scary if he didn't. And he reaaaally didn't want to know what Akashi had wanted to do to those thugs if Furihata hadn't interrupted them earlier.

After all, Furihata did _see_ the scissors. _Ugh._

"Changing the subject?" Of course Akashi would notice something as obvious as that. Furihata did look away this time, sweating profusely. "You are actually scared of me, aren't you?" The redhead threw the brunet a sardonic look.

"I-I told you it wasn't you especially," Furihata denied. "It's your…"

"Aptitude, yes, but aptitude is influenced by how a person thinks, so it's the same as the person itself. You are just sugar-coating your words," Akashi said knowingly and somehow, it got on Furihata's nerves. Akashi stopped talking as the waiter came with their… _Akashi's_ order and put two cups of original black coffee on the table.

Akashi smiled at the waiter regally and the man smiled back politely. "We apologize for the wait. Please enjoy your time. Do you need anything else?" he asked. At the shake of Akashi's head, he bowed again before he excused himself.

_Why is the waiter more like a manservant in a kingdom than a waiter in a café?_—Furihata couldn't help wondering again at the _keigo_ and the very polite way the waiter tended to Akashi.

Akashi looked thoughtful as he stared at the waiter's back for a moment. Then his gaze fell back to the cups on the table and he smirked. "Jeez… what people would do for a price," he laughed lightly before he suddenly slapped the cups away and let them shatter on the hard surface of the floor, much to Furihata's shock.

"W-what are you doing, Akashi-kun?" Furihata shouted in an undertone, very much horrified. He couldn't help paling as the activity around them halted, and the air in the room suddenly chilled for a moment. The hushed whispers and confused stares from the other customers on them were very uncomfortable.

"Excuse me, Mr. Customers. Are you alright?" Another waiter, different from the one that tended to them earlier, came to their table.

_Mr. Customers?_—Furihata was confused at the sudden change of addressing. But more than anything, he was disturbed by the sudden change of mood and attitude Akashi showed. Why did Akashi waste the coffee and the cups so suddenly?

"I apologize," Akashi said, holding the back of his hand. "My hand slipped. I will pay for the broken cups. Can you bring the same order to my table?" he asked politely and he used a soft tone to boot.

Furihata was perplexed. He didn't understand what was happening. A moment ago, Akashi was amused, the next he seemed thoughtful and then he suddenly looked disappointed, then this, and now he was back to his strange polite manner.

Akashi was so volatile. He was unpredictable. Furihata wouldn't be able to have a decent conversation with him without freaking out!

"Relax, it was just a little disturbance," Akashi said as he seemed to notice Furihata's mortification.

"W-what disturbance?" Furihata couldn't help stuttering, his heart thundering because of the fright. He must have been very pale at that moment.

"Well, ordinary eyes won't be able to see it," Akashi smiled again, strangely at ease as the waiter came once again to bring the new cups, then cleaned the mess on the floor. At this time, the other customers seemed to have already resumed their activity and once again ignored their table. Plus, Furihata had some minutes to compose himself.

"Please excuse the inconvenience. Enjoy your drink, Mr. Customers," the waiter smiled more casually and friendlily now before he quickly stepped away.

Furihata immediately noticed that again. "Strange… the way he talked was different from the first one. And he addressed us as Mr. Customers instead of your first name. Is he a new guy or something?" he couldn't help mumbling that out loud.

"Oh, I'm impressed," Akashi suddenly said, eyes alight again, catching Furihata's attention.

"Of… what?" Furihata was a bit wary at the way Akashi looked at him.

"It seems that you are not just some ignorant buffoon like Kagami Taiga. You actually possess a tiny bit of observational skill. Although your deduction skill is rather dim," Akashi praised. Well, it sounded like he was praising him even though there was an insult inside it as well.

"Well, sorry if I'm dim," Furihata muttered lowly, sulking slightly, but not for long because he got to see the amused smile again. Seriously, Akashi was puzzling him. His actions were mystifying. He couldn't comprehend his thoughts, and he just changed the subject again, didn't he?

Furihata sighed. He suddenly felt very tired. Dealing with Akashi Seijuurou was taxing his mind and stamina for some reason. No, he knew perfectly well why. Akashi was the kind of guy who liked to confuse people and play with their minds.

"So… what happened just now?" Out of curiosity, Furihata asked again.

"I don't have any obligation to tell you. Moreover, I don't want to tell you," Akashi said with another smile that didn't reach his eyes as he brought one of the cups in front of his lips before sipping the black coffee. He seemed to enjoy the coffee scent as well as he relished in the comforting bitterness of the dark colored liquid.

Furihata looked at his own cup, frowning slightly at the extra imaginary wall that seemed to materialize between him and Akashi. He took the cup and slowly sipped at the coffee. He choked in disgust, almost spitting it back into the cup, but he held on and gulped down the very bitter beverage.

"You can't handle black coffee," Akashi stated as he smirked. He seemed to have expected that and Furihata was kind of annoyed that the taller guy knew, but ordered the bitter coffee for him anyway. Akashi chuckled as he shook his head again and waved his hand to the waiter.

The same waiter from previously came with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Can you bring us sugar? My friend can't really handle the bitter coffee," Akashi asked.

"Alright, do you want me to bring milk as well? It will lessen the strong flavor," the waiter offered.

"That will be very nice," Furihata said, covering his mouth and slightly wheezing with a bead of perspiration rolling down his cheek.

"Alright, please wait for a moment," the waiter excused himself politely to bring the order.

Then it was silent again between Akashi and Furihata before the shorter boy attempted another conversation. "In the end you never told me why you are in Tokyo today," he scratched his cheek as he said it, not looking at Akashi.

"Is it that strange that I am in Tokyo on a Sunday morning?" Akashi asked.

"Well, no, not really. But… sitting alone in a deserted park was," Furihata answered while playing with the spoon beside his coffee cup. "You said something about waiting for your… minions? What's with that?" It was weird using minions to refer to friends, but… for Akashi, it might have been the right term.

_Minions instead of friends… How sad is that?_—Furihata didn't know if he was feeling sorry for Akashi's friends or for Akashi. After all, if Akashi referred his friends as minions, it could mean that the redhead didn't have any friends, right?

"Well, look at that. You were actually listening to my words," Akashi smiled again. It was kind of annoying that Akashi was making this harder for Furihata. "Indeed. Some people were being disobedient, so I thought that reminding them of their places would be good," his smile turned into a sinister smirk again and Furihata had a very bad feeling about this.

However, before Furihata could comment on that, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He slapped his pants pocket in surprise before he took his cell phone out. "Uh, sorry, I have to take this," he said as he saw Coach Aida's name on the caller ID.

Akashi didn't bother to say anything as Furihata stood and went to the area near restroom. He pushed the answer button and was hurriedly greeted by Aida's energetic voice.

"_So slow, Furihata-kun! What took you so long to answer the phone?!"_

Furihata's sweat dropped. "Coach, your voice is too loud," he sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. I was with someone just now, so…"

Furihata hadn't finished his line when Aida spoke again. _"Never mind. Anyway, make sure to stay home for the day. I just got a text from Kuroko-kun that Akashi Seijuurou will be in town. He said something about GoM missing his calls and Akashi will probably be up to something no good, so Kuroko-kun asked the team to be careful today. It's best to stay home so we won't run into him."_

Furihata paled at that. _It's too laaaaate!_—his mind whirred at the mention that Akashi was up to something bad and connecting the dots between 'some disobedient people' and the fact that Kuroko was extra cautious about GoM's missed calls was not very difficult.

Akashi Seijuurou was in Tokyo for another gathering between the GoM members.

"_Furihata-kun?"_—Aida's voice sounded confused because Furihata hadn't said anything to respond to her news.

Furihata whimpered, his heart sinking. "Coach… it's too late. I was already captured by Akashi Seijuurou," he said while crying pitifully.

"_WHAT?!"—_Aida screamed at the phone so loudly that Furihata thought he would be deaf after receiving that blow. _"Oh my God! Furihata-kun! Hang in there! We'll rescue you ASAP!"_—then she hung up without waiting for another reply.

"Hurry…!" Furihata whined before he closed his cell-phone and put it back inside his pocket again.

Furihata turned around to walk back to the table, but he was surprised to find that Akashi Seijuurou was on the phone as well. His expression was stoic and Furihata couldn't read lips, but Akashi said something, frowning slightly, before he went back to his stoic look again as he closed his phone and put it on the table.

"Sorry about that," Furihata said as he sat in front of Akashi.

"Change of plan," Akashi suddenly said as he slowly stood.

"Eh? W-what happened?" Furihata blinked in confusion.

"Go home." Akashi ordered suddenly.

"Huh?" Furihata tilted his head aside, bewildered.

"Go straight home, Kouki. Don't go anywhere else today," Akashi turned very serious at this.

"E-eh? But why… so sudden…?" Furihata didn't understand.

"If you value your life, do not question me and do as I say. Go home." Akashi's tone dropped slightly and coupled with his killer stare, it was seriously terrifying, so much that Furihata shuddered, frozen to the bone.

"A-alright, I'll… I'll go straight home…" Furihata didn't know what happened, but Akashi's mood just turned to the worst it seemed. And those eyes and tone… he wasn't bluffing. Furihata would lose his life if he didn't do what Akashi said, either by Akashi's own hand or something else. Anyway, since danger was approaching, Furihata needed to run away as soon as possible.

"Good." Akashi pulled a credit card out from his wallet and signaled the waiter to give them the receipt. He ended paying for Furihata's share even before they finished the coffee.

Furihata was walking away from the café while Akashi was staying inside even though the redhead didn't seem to want to continue his drink as well. It was a rather weird experience really. He quickly texted Aida that he was let off safely and she didn't have to send a rescue party. Aida sounded relieved when she called him again right after his message. She also ordered him to go home immediately.

"What the hell happened just now?" Furihata couldn't help but mutter in bafflement.

Akashi looked grave when he suddenly told Furihata to go home, as if he knew something bad would happen. Change of plan? What was that phone-call about? Anyway, Furihata was totally bemused. This was definitely the weirdest day of his life.

_Well, let's just follow the Coach's order to stay home today…—_Furihata mused as he walked home. When he passed some buildings at the Ginza shopping district, he saw some bodies laying around in the dark alley, groaning and moaning painfully with bruises here and there.

Furihata immediately recognized the guys because of their unique clothes. _Huh? Aren't they the thugs that were messing with Akashi-kun this morn—?!_

Furihata yelped in shock as a pair of red eyes appeared from the darkness of the alley. He covered his mouth not to actually scream like a victimized girl in horror movie because really, that would be just super embarrassing. Well, to his defense, it was really scary.

Those pair of eyes slowly materialized into a person, a tall young man, quite handsome actually, but definitely intimidating. And he glared at Furihata, so the boy just immediately ran away because he really had had enough of getting involved in something like that.

_Shit! Today brings nothing but trouble! Is today my unlucky day or something?!_—Although he didn't scream like a girl, Furihata definitely shrieked inside his mind as he continued running down the road straight home, not looking back out of fear that he might be chased after.

Luckily, Furihata arrived home in one piece, but he still locked his front door and dashed to his room before he locked his bedroom door as well, ignoring his mother's scolding for running inside the house and that he should announce if he was home or something along that line. He didn't care. He just wanted to hide in his room. Just in case.

Furihata was panting and wheezing when he flopped down on his bed weakly, not even taking off his coat first. He looked at the ceiling while calming his racing heartbeat and irregular breathing pace. "Really… what a very odd day…" and he repeated it over and over like a chant until the image of those enchanting dichromatic eyes receded from his mind.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Kuroko brought Aomine, Momoi, Kise, Midorima, Takao and Murasakibara inside Kagami's apartment. They immediately saw how warm the atmosphere was between Kagami, his mom, and Himuro, who were holding each other like a real family.

Kagami noticed when they came in and slightly pushed his mom's hand away so he could greet the group. Setsuna and Himuro immediately stood as well to greet Kuroko's party.

"Wow, Taiga has made so many friends in a year! My son is impressive," Setsuna ruffled Kagami's hair fondly with a wide sparkling smile.

"Mom!" Kagami flushed slightly, looking embarrassed and troubled as Aomine snickered and Momoi giggled at that, Midorima muttered lowly that they weren't friends and Takao whistled slightly, saying Kagami could look adorable too. Murasakibara just stared silently and Kuroko gave them a small smile.

"Uh, guys, this is my mother, Kagami Setsuna," Kagami then introduced his mother to the group and then turned to face his mom to do the same for his friends. "Mom, from the left after Kuroko they are: Momoi Satsuki, Aomine Daiki, Kise Ryouta, Midorima Shintarou, Takao Kazunari and Murasakibara Atsushi," he pointed at them one by one to show who was who.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Kagami," Momoi bowed slightly and politely and the others mimicked her as common courtesy.

"Maa, Momoi Satsuki-chan, huh? Such a nice young girl, and you are very pretty too!" Setsuna said with an excited friendly smile. Momoi blushed slightly at the compliment and thanked her shyly.

Aomine snorted at that and Momoi elbowed his side. He almost yowled in pain at her jab, but he just held his abused side while trembling. Setsuna set her eyes on Aomine at the movement. "Wow, such a fine young man. That tan skin looks very good on you. It's your natural skin color, Daiki-kun?" she asked.

"Eh, err… yeah. Mostly because of the sun, though," Aomine said awkwardly, trying to speak politely, but he fumbled with his words.

Setsuna chuckled at his attempt. "Don't worry about language. Use the one you are comfortable with. Oh, and just call me Setsuna, by the way. Mrs. Kagami makes me sound old," she said quite amusedly. Aomine looked kind of troubled and embarrassed at that.

"You _are_ old," Kagami muttered and Setsuna kicked his shin in retaliation. Kagami had to crouch down on the ground to hold his painful shin after, while Himuro was laughing ruefully at him.

"This one is Ryouta-kun, huh? Ooh! You are really handsome and charming! A model? Aww~, such beautiful hair and skin! I'm jealous!" Setsuna said rather enthusiastically while staring sparklingly eyed at Kise.

"Ah, such words from a beautiful woman like you are wasted on me, Setsuna-san," Kise gave her his most charming model smile and Setsuna actually squealed slightly.

"Aww~! Ryouta-kun is such a tease!" She slapped Kise's back so hard that the model winced slightly at it. Takao outright laughed at this view.

"Setsuna-san is a very interesting person!" the Hawk-Eyed point guard was still chuckling as Setsuna turned to face him.

"It's Kazunari-kun, right? You are quite charming too. Your smile is very nice," Setsuna said.

"Thank you, Ma'am!" Takao grinned widely.

"Jeez, Takao, where are your manners?" Midorima gave his boyfriend a disapproving glare before Setsuna set her eyes on the tall shooting guard.

"Shintarou-kun, right? You have such long eyelashes and your face is beautiful too! Ah, and those glasses… do you like studying too? You look very smart for some reason," Setsuna praised.

"Uh… it's, it's not a big deal…" Midorima flushed slightly, stuttering. Somehow, he seemed unable to act arrogant about it because Setsuna looked very sincere when she complimented him.

"Ahaha, Shin-chan turns reeeed!" Takao teased and Midorima scowled at him in annoyance. Setsuna giggled slightly.

Setsuna then turned to the tallest member of the group and stared at the purple haired boy in awe. "Wow… you are so tall… and so handsome to boot, Atsushi-kun, right? Must be tough walking around with that height, the doors in Japan are quite short after all," she continued.

"Yes, it is troublesome sometimes," Murasakibara said, looking bored.

"But, Kagami and Setsuna-san resemble each other, ne?" Momoi couldn't help mentioning. Setsuna seemed distracted from her awe at Murasakibara's height as she turned to face Momoi again.

"Well, half of his looks and personality came from me after all, except for his height. That was from his father," Setsuna giggled and the others laughed slightly as well, except maybe Midorima who only huffed out a soft chuckle and Murasakibara who tilted his head aside, looking puzzled instead. "Well, then. I will let you youngsters play alone. Taiga, don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay?" She winked at her son.

"There's nothing you won't do as long as it's amusing for you," Kagami grumbled, pouting slightly.

"Ah, Setsuna-san," Kuroko called her while reaching out to grab her arm before she could walk away. She turned slightly to face Kuroko.

"Yes, Tetsuya-kun?" Setsuna asked, smiling gently.

"Umm… actually, we need to speak to you, if you do not mind," Kuroko said slowly and politely, rather serious as well.

"Okay…?" Setsuna seemed to notice when everyone went quiet at that and somehow, they looked tense as well. "What's wrong?" she looked concerned now.

Kuroko was amazed at how perceptive Setsuna was. In a way, she was like Kagami, but even more sensitive to people's feelings. Kagami was dense most of the times, but when it counted, he was always the first one to notice too. He must have gotten that amazing skill from this woman.

"Actually… we are kind of in trouble," Kuroko said and Setsuna looked alerted at that. "We have made a very dangerous person angry, and now… Momoi-san is in danger, so if it is not a trouble for you, will it be alright to leave her in your care for today? At least until we can apologize to that person," he continued.

Setsuna stared at Kuroko in silence for a moment, her gaze calculating and contemplating before she nodded. "I will watch over her, but I wish you would give me a little more detail about this 'dangerous person'. If it is too much to handle for high school boys, I'd like to help you guys as well," she said kindly afterwards.

"Ah, there will be no need for that, since he is one of our friends… sort of," Kise said in Kuroko's place shaking his head and smiling reassuringly.

"Your friend… sort of?" Setsuna pried deeper. Kise seemed to unable to explain further without saying too much.

"Uh…" the blond scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Idiot," Aomine muttered slightly, sweat dripping from the back of his head.

"It is our friend from middle school. We all, except Takao, attended the same middle school," Midorima explained.

"We were in the same basketball club as well," Aomine added.

"At some point we were called the Generation of Miracles," Kise piped in.

"Ah!" Suddenly Setsuna exclaimed. "Oh my…! You guys are the miraculous rainbow Taiga had mentioned in his email!" she said with a surprise look. Kagami face palmed and Himuro chuckled at the name.

"Miraculous… rainbow?"

Takao instantly doubled over, laughing hysterically at the faces the GoM members (except Kuroko, of course) had made. Kuroko just sighed deeply while the other guys, and even Momoi gave Kagami evil glares in various levels. The worst was from Midorima since Takao was still laughing like a maniac.

Kagami could only look away after he uncovered his face, seeming unable to look them in the eyes as he looked rather embarrassed as well.

"Ah, sorry about that," Setsuna seemed to realize that she had somehow upset the GoM with her words, so she amended quickly. "But, Taiga really admires you guys, he couldn't stop talking about you when we chatted," she giggled at that.

"Mom!?" Kagami protested indignantly while the GoM blinked once before they smirked.

"So… Kagami-chi is our fan, huh?" Kise giggled as well.

"Shut up, Kise!" Kagami barked, blushing darker.

"After all the talks of bringing us down, really?" Aomine grinned teasingly.

"You too Aomine! Shut your mouth up!" Kagami's face was burning bright red now, and his voice pitched higher in embarrassment.

"Hmph, even Kagami can be _tsundere_," Midorima commented while pushing his glasses up with his bandaged fingers.

"As if you could talk!" Kagami barked and gave the green haired boy a very exasperated glare. Takao's laugh escalated at this moment, finding the tsundere comment hilarious as it came from the tsundere Midorima himself.

"Kagami is reeed," Murasakibara didn't seem to want to lose at this 'mocking Kagami' race, so he added to the teasing even though he still looked bored.

"Aaaaargh! Not you too, Murasakibara!" Kagami groaned loudly in another protest.

"Guys, please stop teasing Kagami-kun," Kuroko felt rather amused actually, but he took pity of his boyfriend's misery for being the subject of his ex-teammates glee and reminded them once again that they needed to focus on their problem first.

"Right, sorry," they all shook their heads and went back to serious mode.

"Anyway, Akashi-kun is a person we should not have made angry, but we did, albeit accidentally, and—" Kuroko continued on, but Setsuna held her hand up suddenly, effectively stopping Kuroko's speech.

"Hold on a second. Go back again. Who are you talking about now?" Setsuna looked curious.

"Akashi-kun," Kuroko said slowly and unsurely, blinking once.

"Akashi… do you mean… Akashi Seijuurou?" Setsuna asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes… do you know him by any chance?" Kuroko asked back, curious.

Kagami looked surprised. "Mom, you know Akashi Seijuurou?" He asked in disbelief.

"Oh my… oh dear," Setsuna put her palms on her cheeks, looking astonished and slightly speechless. "To think that you guys are having such a predicament with the Akashi family…" she continued, looking very troubled.

"W-what is it? Do you know him or not?" Kagami was getting impatient with his mother's confusing reaction.

"Well… I didn't think you had to know before, but since you have met each other and know each other to some point…" Setsuna muttered slowly before she looked at Kagami's face thoughtfully and meaningfully. "Taiga, you have asked about my mysterious family that I was reluctant to tell you before, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Kagami frowned, seeming to get even more puzzled.

"I only told you that my family was so strict that they wouldn't let your father marry me, but there was more to that. Ours status' were also very far from each other. Your father was only an SP at that time and I… I was one of the daughters of a very prestigious and big family. That family… was the Akashi family," Setsuna said seriously.

The room instantly went still at that. The temperature dropped several degrees as the silence stretched for several seconds before Kagami could react with an "Eh…?" His eyes widened to impossible size while the others were stone-cracked.

"That's right, Taiga. My name before I married your father was Akashi Setsuna. I have a sister, a younger twin sister that inherited the Akashi family's legacy after I eloped with your father. Her name is Akashi Kurenai. Akashi Seijuurou is the name of her eldest son."

…

…

"That means… "

_Kagami Taiga and Akashi Seijuurou are cousins?!_

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH ?!" the collective exploding screech from the occupants of the room was enough to shake the apartment building so extensively that the neighbors thought there was a sudden local earthquake in Tokyo.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata ~**

* * *

Somewhere in a recreation room at a beautiful, big, wide Japanese style house in the Tokyo area, a stunning woman with long scarlet hair tied in formal bun that was decorated with various sparkly hair ornaments and wearing a formal kimono made from high class material was playing shogi by herself with a smile on her face.

"Fufufu, hurry and come back home to mother, Seijuurou-san…" the woman moved one of the shogi piece gracefully, her visible golden right eye that wasn't covered by an eye-patch glinting slightly as the piece in her hand took over the king piece on the board. "I got you," she whispered and her smile turned into a slightly devious smirk.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata ~**

* * *

Akashi was sitting at his table alone, looking at the dark liquid in his cup with a focused mind. He kept his eyes trained at the ripple of the liquid as he stroked the cup slightly, trying to compose himself.

It was indeed surprising that Akashi actually felt disturbed, but he had only came by to Tokyo to give his minions some warnings and a little bit of punishment. Who would have thought that _she_ would catch the news about him coming back to Tokyo?

Akashi didn't want to trouble his father for this matter because his presence in Tokyo was temporary today, but that phone-call just now was ruining his mood. His left eye twitched slightly and throbbed uncomfortably. It wasn't painful anymore, but the dull annoying throb he occasionally felt there when he was bothered was thinning his patience.

"She has eyes everywhere,"

Akashi tensed as someone slid to sit at the empty seat in front of him, the one that Furihata had previously sat on. He slowly put his cup of coffee down on the table and looked upward at the person who was slouching rudely in front of him.

"You do realize that it's impossible to escape her _eyes_ when you are in town, don't you? That's why you chose to attend a school at Kyoto, right, Seijuurou-_oniisama_? (2)" the guy asked. The young man had the same scarlet hair as Akashi, but slightly longer, he was also taller and looked older than Akashi and a smirk was vaguely spread across his lips.

Akashi gave the man a deadly glare and he visibly flinched, but somehow he wasn't faltering, which pissed Akashi even more. "What do you want, Soujirou?" he asked coldly, not yet releasing his terrifying dagger glare at the (actually) younger man.

"Soujirou? What's with the sudden formality? Why don't you call me Jiro-chan, Sei-niisama?" Jiroichi asked, smiling deviously at him despite the perspiration on his face that betrayed his confident look.

"Why are you here?" Akashi repeated his question, not intending to humor the guy. He was trying to be patient because like it or not, this guy was his younger brother and he didn't want to resort to stabbing him in the eye since Soujirou wouldn't be able to dodge his attack like what Kagami did, if he decided to piss Akashi off more than he already had.

"Maa, don't get angry, Sei-nii. I am just delivering a message from mother. She said she wanted to see you so _please go home_," Soujirou mimicked a woman's voice at the end of his sentence while picking up his tone into high pitch.

It was very irritating. Akashi itched to splash the coffee all over Soujirou's face just to ruin his brother's smirk. Oh, Soujirou was deadly wrong if he thought Akashi would let it slide for him to act like a total fool in public, in _Akashi's_ presence to boot, without any retribution. He would definitely punish the guy later.

"Today I only came to Tokyo to meet some minions. I do not have any intention to stop by the main house," Akashi said coldly.

"Ah… I will get punished if you don't stop by. Please? For your cute little brother's sake?" Soujirou resorted to begging now, puppy eyes and all, which looked more nauseating than cute. He was a twisted boy who took pleasure in being punished after all, so to contradict what he said, Soujirou must have wanted Akashi to get lost as soon as possible and go far away to Kyoto, or Okinawa if it was possible.

Akashi sighed slightly. "Alright, give me three more hours and I will stop by the main house to say hello to mother," he said slowly.

"Aww~, Sei-nii is a softie as usual," Soujirou looked disappointed.

"Now go. Mind your manner and speech in public, Soujirou. Don't embarrass the Akashi family name with your tactless act. And clean the blood stains on your clothes. They do not suit your look," Akashi said, looking back at his cup of coffee evenly.

Soujirou laughed lightly at that. "Sei-nii, you are very cool as always. I just _love_ that side of you," he was still chuckling before he drank the coffee that was left by Furihata earlier and then stood to do what Akashi said. "Come home quick, Sei-nii. Let's play together again… I learned to play basketball just for you, you know," he said. His gaze still lingering at Akashi's features until it was impossible to crane his neck further as he reached the entrance of the café.

Akashi sighed slightly. "This has turned for the worst."

**End of Part 4**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**Additional Notes:**

***1000 yen: **approximately $10

**1)**_**Strălucitoare de Via**__**ț**__**ă**_**:** from Rumanian language, meaning 'shining life'.

**2)**_**Niisama, niisan, niichan, nii**_**: **big brother.

**A/N: **Umm... please don't judge. I know Akashi was supposed to meet the others in this chapter, but somehow the scenes just kept expanding and everyone started talking and when I realized, it had crossed my usual word-limit... T_T. Ugh, sorry, I was so focused in Akashi's family background... and have to introduce two more OCs: Akashi Kurenai (his mom) and Akashi Soujirou (his little brother; I know, definitely uncreative since Seijuurou and Soujirou sounded similar, huh?) *lol* And the shocking fact is OUT! Who would have thought, huh? Kagami and Akashi, really? *lol* (That's me. Sheesh, how I LOVE making twist in my plot).

Anyway, con-crits are always needed. Seriously, please do because I need some improvement.


	5. Part 5

**Disclaimer: Fujimaki Tadatoshi owned Kuroko no Basuke and its characters. Luna only owns the plot and some OCs *lol***

**Warning: **_Akashi (because he's Akashi), AU, shounen ai/yaoi, slight oOC, language, etc…_

**A/N: **Sorry, it takes so long to update. My GOD! Last week I was so busy I couldn't even come home before 10 p.m. I tried to type as fast as I could at weekend, but I ended up making so many mistakes for **my beta** to correct that it took even longer time to complete. Sorry, **tora-chan38** (T_T) and thank you sooo much for your help! XD

Anyway, I won't babble much. Thank you very much for the reviews from the previous chapter! Also for who faves and alerts this, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter as well!

* * *

**Signal**

_**Part 5**_

* * *

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?"

_Kagami Taiga and Akashi Seijuurou are… COUSINS?!_

Everyone in the room (except Kuroko and Setsuna) literally dropped their jaws in shock as that fact sank in their mind. Even Midorima couldn't escape the inevitable of making himself look ridiculous like a fish out of water.

"Akashi-kun… and Kagami-kun…?" Kuroko was astonished as he heard that. Even though he didn't show it much, he was as shocked as the others about it.

Kagami's eyes were very wide as he seemed to try to digest the information in his _not so brilliant _brain. "That's… a joke, right?" He laughed very nervously, seeming unable to accept her statement.

Setsuna threw Kagami an apologetic look. "I'm afraid not, Taiga. You and Akashi Seijuurou are indeed cousin," she said, sighing slightly.

…

"How… how could that be? I mean; they don't even look alike!" Takao was the first of the speechless group who finally found his voice after a very suffocating silence. Everyone snapped in response and immediately nodded eagerly, looking still skeptical.

"Kagami-kun and Akashi-kun… can't be cousins," even Kuroko was in disbelief. "After all, how could a guy as pure as Kagami-kun have any relation at all with someone like Akashi-kun?" To think that part of their beings share the same 'something' was very hard to stomach.

Setsuna chuckled at this. "I don't think them being related has anything to do with their personalities, after all, they were raised in different environments."

"But still… they really don't look alike, Aunt Setsuna," Himuro suddenly spoke, still looking very shocked as well even though he seemed calmer than the others. "If you and Akashi Seijuurou's mother are sisters, then… Taiga should at least have some resemblance with him," he continued.

"No, but… they do share some things in common," Momoi interrupted, looking thoughtful after she seemed to calm down as well. Then she turned to face Kagami who was still speechless, and assessed his appearance. "Red eyes… red hair… I think they are similar to Akashi-kun's before he got 'The Eye'," she continued and Kuroko widened his eyes for a fraction, though no one seemed to notice since they were quite distracted with what Momoi had said.

Kise and Aomine were still gaping as Midorima apprehensively fixed his glasses position. Murasakibara looked slightly disturbed as well while Takao frowned deeply.

"What do you mean by… before getting 'The Eye'?" Himuro seemed to be more interested in that part as he asked and Kagami looked upward at Himuro in a surprise. However, the redhead was clearly interested in it as well when he turned to face the GoM members again, including Kuroko.

Kuroko looked down, feeling rather distressed suddenly. He really didn't want to talk about this when there was a more pressing matter at hand. Who would have thought that Kagami had such relation with Akashi? Was this really a coincidence?

Somehow, Kuroko couldn't help feeling rather paranoid. Because this was Akashi Seijuurou they were talking about, anything was possible. But… he wouldn't have gone as far as setting up Kagami and Kuroko's meeting as well, right? It was… plainly impossible!

"Shin-chan, can I tell these guys what you told me?" Takao suddenly raised his hand, surprising the others, especially Kuroko. All eyes centered on the Hawk Eyed point guard before slowly moving to Midorima who looked very bothered at that moment.

"You told him already?" Aomine who appeared to finally find his voice again asked, looking rather indignant. Kise looked distraught beside him, clenching at the hem of his clothes while Momoi looked peeved. Murasakibara just eyed the green haired teen with an unreadable expression and Kuroko couldn't help frowning slightly.

"It is inevitable," Midorima replied slowly. "Sooner or later, we have to inform them if we really want to involve them in our life… especially concerning Akashi because he's someone who will always be in our lives no matter what," he continued steadily, his expression pained for some reasons. "You of all people should have realized this, Aomine."

Aomine flinched. The tan ace gritted his teeth, looking very disgruntled as he clenched his hand hard.

"Aomine-chi…" Kise reached out to hold his fist, slowly stroking and prying for his fingers to loosen so his nails wouldn't dig into his palm. He was trying to comfort Aomine somehow, and the dark-blue haired teen appeared to notice this as well when he took a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

"What's going on here?" Kagami seemed to catch on that there was something… something _bigger_ that happened in the past. Of course even he would notice if everyone suddenly made such anxious gestures and disturbed expressions, he wasn't that dull.

Kuroko himself… as much as he wanted to mask his worry and agitation with an indifferent look, couldn't help seething painfully as he recalled those memories. It wasn't that far away in the past. It was only almost two years ago. That event… that changed their lives forever.

"It seems… something did happen in the past," Setsuna was the one who broke the unbearable stillness and the GoM winced slightly at that. "Would you guys tell us… what happened?"

They seemed very reluctant. Heck, even Kuroko was hesitant. Honestly, if it was possible, Kuroko wanted to forget, because… what Akashi did that time… had bounded them to the GoM Captain forever, whether they liked it or not.

But the thing was… it was deeper than that. No one seemed to notice this yet, but Kuroko… he knew. He had seen the truth behind all of Akashi's masks and actions back then.

"Akashi-kun… had an accident when we were in the third year," Momoi spoke slowly.

"Accident?" Himuro asked as Kagami looked surprised. Setsuna turned rather serious in her silence, listening to the pink haired girl speak since the others didn't seem willing to open their mouths.

"Before… Akashi-kun's eyes were both red in color, but… after the accident, he acquired the 'Emperor Eye'," Momoi spoke again. "I've never dared to ask from where, but… rumor said it was from his mother," she continued slowly, carefully as if she were talking about something taboo.

Setsuna narrowed her eyes as she heard this, and Kuroko was wondering why, but it wasn't the time to question Kagami's mother when Momoi was bearing her soul (information) to the strangers about something _only_ the GoM should know.

"What happened in the accident?" Kagami asked further, looking very curious.

"After the GoM of Teikou secured two years of victory in the Middle School Championship Games, the GoM's name soared highly and they became very famous. However, _some people_ disliked that fact. From the chatter around, I picked up some disturbing rumors about 'basketball gamble'."

Kagami and Himuro snapped as they heard this. "Basketball gamble…! Tatsuya, it's…!"

"Yeah," Himuro nodded seriously. "It's almost the same as in the U.S. Basketball gamble is common even in Japan between in _a certain _circle."

Momoi nodded before she continued. "The continuous victory of the Teikou team made some very dangerous people unhappy because they lost money in this 'basketball gamble'. Then, the GoM started getting harassed right after the preliminary game started."

…

…

"You got harassed?" Kagami and Himuro shouted in unison. They didn't seem to expect that news. Takao looked surprised as well. It seemed Midorima didn't tell him that far about what the GoM had been going through in middle school that caused the accident.

"We did. Well, most of us ignored these harassments at first because it was common for other people to feel jealous of what we have, and they were actually petty at first, like hate letters or hiding our things. Regardless, we never got physically hurt or anything. The worst was when someone stole Midorin's lucky item so he wouldn't show up in our match, but that's it. However… one time, it escalated into something pretty bad," Momoi looked down.

"What?" Takao asked.

"Threatening letter," Momoi whispered. "Just one time, two days before our fifth official match for the preliminaries of the Championship Game in our third year," she closed her eyes then, her complexion looking slightly paler. "The letter demanded Aomine Daiki to skip the next match, or something bad would happen to him or the people around him. At that time, Dai-chan had started to skip practices more, and so he didn't know about the letter. Akashi-kun tried to contact him, we all did, but Dai-chan had a bad habit of ignoring his call or turning his cell phone off when he was skipping, so... Well, we decided to find him, but apparently, he wasn't at school that time."

Aomine shut his eyes at that. He seemed very repentant for some reason, but he still didn't say anything and neither did everyone else, especially Kagami, Himuro and Takao. They seemed very inquisitive to know the whole story.

"Akashi-kun suggested that we split up to look for him," Momoi spoke again after pausing to take a breath.

"Wait, you didn't tell the school about it?" Himuro asked, looking confused.

"We did, but the school decided not to involve the police because it could create a scene, right? After all, Teikou is a prestigious school, so they didn't want any bad news involving their school name. Akashi-kun seemed pretty mad at that time, but he decided to go along with the boards' wish to keep it quiet, so we looked for Dai-chan with the help of our basketball club members only," Momoi explained.

"Tsk. What is wrong with that school?" Kagami grunted, seemingly annoyed.

"Private school is usually like that," Takao nodded grimly.

"Anyway, we looked for Dai-chan separately, but then…" Momoi went very quiet at this point, and she didn't seem to be strong enough to continue, so Kise picked up her story.

"The real purpose of the letter was actually to separate us from each other. We… got attacked by some people we didn't know when we looked for Aomine-chi. Of course we ran away, but Momoi-chi wasn't very lucky… she…" Kise gulped at this. "She was almost…," he didn't seem able to say it, but Himuro and Takao appeared to catch on pretty quickly. Kagami looked pretty confused at first before Himuro whispered something in his ear, causing him to make a horrified expression.

"No way!" Kagami was still gaping when Momoi scooted closer to Aomine and gripped his clothes with trembling hands.

Kise took a deep shaky breath before he continued. "Luckily, Akashi-chi stopped it before it got too far. He called us and we helped Momoi-chi run away, and… when we almost got involved in a fight… Akashi-chi… he did something," the blond looked weary at this point, his caramel colored eyes watery.

"What did he do?" Kagami gulped slightly at the suspense.

"He talked to them," Midorima answered for Kise. "We didn't know what he said back then because it was such a dire situation and we were in panic, trying to run away. The next thing we knew, one of the guys bashed Akashi-chi's left side head."

"Eh?" Both Kagami and Himuro looked stricken at that. Takao grimaced.

"That wasn't all. It was apparently Akashi's offer in exchange of letting us go," Midorima continued before he looked at Takao seriously. "I told Takao… that we owed our lives to Akashi… because he let some insignificant people injure him, so Akashi wouldn't be able to come out in the next match. But in exchange, they would leave the rest of us alone," he gritted his teeth. "Even though he could have just run… but for us… he…!"

"He's that kind of guy, isn't he?" Aomine said, looking very scornful and hateful. "He did that… to reprimand me for skipping too many practices and ignoring his call…!"

"Aomine-kun!" Kuroko raised his voice at that, and everyone snapped in shock as if they had just realized that Kuroko was there with them. "Akashi wouldn't…! That kind of thing…!" He was mortified at how his ex-partner was thinking about their ex-Captain.

"But there was a rumor that he even controlled those guys!" Aomine shouted in retaliation.

"It was a baseless rumor! We have talked about this repeatedly!" Kuroko shouted back, which seemed to surprise everyone even more because he never shouted so loudly, not to that extent. Even Aomine looked bewildered at that.

…

A heavy silence befell the room before Kise broke it with a whisper of "Akashi-chi… didn't deny that rumor, though."

Kuroko turned to face Kise who looked very heartbroken. "Yes… he didn't deny that. But…" He bit his bottom lip slightly.

"_Consider it a warning for you all. From now on, stick together at all cost and always answer your phone if I call. There's no excuse the second time."_

Akashi had said that from a hospital bed when the six of them visited him. With that kind of speech, with a look so cold and serious, even though it was only with one sharp eye looking at them (since the other was covered with cotton and bandaged), of course Aomine would be crushed with remorse and a heavy sense of responsibility. After all, Momoi also got hurt because of him.

Of course, some of them would also think that it was Akashi's plan all along. They knew the redhead well. He was capable and would go as far as hurting himself and other people to make his point across.

"_What a troublesome ace."_

Kuroko remembered how Akashi had looked after they were left alone in the room. He looked rueful as he spoke, as if losing his left eye was a small thing.

"_Why… why did you go that far, Akashi-kun…?" _It wasn't normal. No matter how everyone looked at it, it was too much. Kuroko wanted to know why Akashi would go overboard for them, for his basketball team.

Akashi turned to face Kuroko and smiled kindly before saying _"This is a cheap price, so long as I can keep all of us on the top safely."_

At that time, Kuroko knew that it was the truth. No matter how cruel or sadistic Akashi was sometimes with his training regiment, his psychological game or even in his threats, he always did what he needed to do for the GoM's own good. However, Kuroko also knew that this… this obsession he had towards them… would definitely destroy himself… and _them_, someday.

That's why… after that, Kuroko was trying to maintain distance. He had seen what kind of guy Akashi Seijuurou was. How far he would go to keep them close under his wing, how much he was willing to do pretty much anything to make sure of it… In a sense, aside from Kuroko's respect and admiration, there was also fear towards Akashi's conviction in his heart.

"But… there was no proof, and it did not change the fact that he saved us that day… He traded his left eye for our safety…" Kuroko spoke again, continuing his words as he closed his eyes.

"You're still so naïve, huh… Tetsu?" Aomine looked bitter now. "But you… you also know deep down that it wasn't true and you left because of that, right? It wasn't just because of our fallout as partners. I saw the way you looked at Akashi sometimes, you know," he continued, holding Momoi close with one hand while the other held Kise's hand.

Kuroko couldn't say anything back to that. As much as he wanted to tell them about his speculation, he also didn't have any proof that Akashi was obsessed with them. Even though he was pretty sure that he was right, Akashi wouldn't admit it. Kuroko wasn't even sure if Akashi realized why he did what he did.

"I see… something like that happened, huh?" Setsuna mumbled slightly. Kagami looked perplexed and Himuro appeared to be astounded.

"No wonder he spoke about gauging his own eyes out for just winning a game…" Takao sighed while muttering, looking irked rather than impressed. "He's psychotic," he huffed.

"He is, isn't he?" Kise smiled sadly at that.

"But…" Murasakibara spoke so suddenly, surprising the others because he hadn't said a thing after Momoi started telling the story earlier. "Deep down, Aka-chin is a very fragile and gentle person," he said.

Everyone looked at the purple haired boy as if he had grown a second head. Akashi Seijuurou was far from fragile. Manipulative. Cruel. Sometimes gentle maybe, _sometimes_, but never fragile. There was even a sharp edge in Akashi's gentleness.

However, but Kuroko couldn't exactly argued with Murasakibara even though there was no proof of his theory since Kuroko himself didn't have any hard proof to object it.

"I see," Setsuna suddenly clasped her hands, seemingly trying to gain everyone's attention and dispel the degenerating moment. "I understand the situation now. So… basically you guys don't want something like what occurred in the past to happen again because you missed his call, huh? That's why you don't want to leave Satsuki-chan alone since she could be targeted again _if_ Seijuurou-kun indeed was behind that attack," she declared and nodded surely. "Don't worry. I will watch over her," she said reassuringly to the others who looked relieved as the mood was somehow lightened slightly with her supportive words and kind smile.

Still, before they could properly express their gratitude, Setsuna added, "However, I want to be where you are when you meet Seijuurou-kun later."

…

…

"Eh?" The GoM, including Kuroko, blinked at her in surprise and confusion.

"There's something that bugged me with the story just now…" Setsuna looked thoughtful as she explained. "I just want to make sure that I've got the _wrong idea_…maybe."

Kuroko looked at Setsuna, very curious of what she was thinking because she looked… like she knew about something that they didn't. However, it was hard to ask her because it seemed like she didn't want to share her thought before she was sure of it.

"We understand. Setsuna-san can come with us, but… you have to put some distance from our meeting point, so Akashi won't notice you," Midorima agreed and the others didn't seem to mind either.

"If Mom goes, I'm going too," Kagami said suddenly.

"Me too," Takao followed.

"Of course I will go too," Himuro smiled.

"Eh, but…!" now the GoM looked like they minded. Even Kuroko didn't think it was a good idea. Akashi wouldn't be happy if all of them tagged along.

"I'm not sure how to deal with Akashi after knowing that we are cousins, but…" Kagami looked at Kuroko. "I will protect you, Kuroko. I know you are loyal to Akashi, but don't forget that you are min-I mean, _my partner_ now." He coughed slightly at that. For some reasons, his face colored slightly. "I won't let him hurt you, not even a strand of hair," he continued with serious face afterwards.

At the total conviction in Kagami's voice and tone, Kuroko couldn't help feeling amazed of how sincere, how true and honest Kagami was with his promise.

"Well said, Kagami," Takao grinned widely at the redhead before he turned to face his Shin-chan. "Don't underestimate our conviction as the GoM's new partners. We will follow you and watch your back, always," he also made a promise with such confidence that Midorima widened his eyes in astonishment.

"I already made a promise that I'd always be by your side, no matter what happens. That is my devotion to you," Himuro also looked at Murasakibara with total assurance and a very gentle smile that was worth a thousand stars. Murasakibara blinked once before a smile bloomed on his usually bored expression.

"Aww~ aren't they so sweet?" Setsuna squealed and giggled as she witnessed such cheesy confessions. The three boys who said such corny lines blushed slightly as they seemed to realize what they had said, looking very embarrassed suddenly.

"Mom!" Kagami complained at her indignantly, his face still looking very funny.

Aomine and Kise looked at each other, not saying anything but they tightened their hold on each others' hands before Kise smiled softly and Aomine huffed a slight laugh, shaking his head. Momoi was also smiling at this, looking extremely relieved that they had someone… a few people who honestly cared for them as who they are rather than as _what_ they are.

Kuroko couldn't help himself as he approached Kagami, and then reached for his clothes before he put his head on Kagami's chest, surprising the redhead slightly. "Ku-Kuroko?" he sounded confused, his hands moving to hold Kuroko's back as if by reflex.

Kuroko smiled gently from the bottom of his heart as he thought about how instinctively protective Kagami's gesture was. He closed his eyes and hugged Kagami back. "If Kagami-kun is here, my heart feels very strong," he spoke slowly, as quietly as possible so only Kagami could hear it.

Kuroko could feel Kagami's heartbeat jump at his words, and the redhead must have been flustered because Kuroko could hear the giggles, snickers and snorts from everyone else in the room. Kagami made a protesting noise, but Kuroko could care less at that moment, because that was how he felt, honestly.

Kuroko and the others had vowed that they would never betray Akashi, but this was different. Even if Akashi didn't approve, Kuroko wouldn't lose Kagami. No matter what, he would make Akashi understand that Kagami was a necessary element in his life.

Murasakibara and Midorima must have thought the same thing. Kuroko knew, because their feelings were as strong as his towards their new partners.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Akashi looked at his watch. It was almost the promised time. He stood and left the café, walking down the street of Ginza to go back to the deserted park he had decided as the meeting point. He wasn't in a rush since he could be as fashionably late as usual. It was his privilege as the GoM Captain after all.

Akashi's eyes caught some people looking at his direction, but he ignored them. They were probably just the extension of his mother's eyes. He also noticed some ambulances stopped in front of the alleys. The paramedics rushed some injured people in and Akashi recognized those guys albeit they pretty beaten up.

_Sheesh… Soujirou… always doing something unnecessary…—_Akashi frowned, feeling displeased. His brother always did something without thinking about the consequence. In the end Akashi always had to clean after his mess and it really annoyed him.

"_Sei-nii… you want those people, right? How about I give you a hand?"_

"_This Akashi Soujirou will be your shadow, Sei-nii. Use me at your free will."_

Akashi's frown deepened. He ended up remembering something unpleasant. He didn't want to get involved in that world after all. That world was too dark for his comfort. He didn't like being in that world. However…

"_Do you want 'these eyes', Seijuurou-san?"_

Akashi raised his hand to cover his left eye.

"_Yes, I want those eyes, Mother."_

Akashi smirked. That was right. His deed of sacrificing his left eye for his GoM was just a way to get his mother's eyes. Well, one eye was enough, though. With that eye he was invincible. With the 'Emperor Eye', he was allowed see a 'future' even though it was only for a fraction of a second before it happened.

Everything was according plan. Everything was in place. He only had to remind his generals that they were his. That everything he did was for their own good. There was nothing for him to worry about.

_Nothing at all_.

Akashi arrived at the meeting point and the five other members of the GoM were there, waiting for him in tense silence. Akashi smiled, pleased that they still held that fear and respect for him in their eyes. They looked extra wary though, but that was normal since they realized they had done something wrong, something worth a little scolding, and maybe a bit of punishment.

"Good, you aren't running away, Daiki, Ryouta, Shintarou, Atsushi and… Tetsuya," Akashi greeted them calmly, his smile never faltering. He could see them (except Kuroko) flinch slightly at the way he spoke their name just a little more intense than usual.

"Good morning, Akashi-kun," Kuroko, still with his dull expression and toneless voice, spoke first, returning his greeting. The others nodded at the redhead respectfully, following the Phantom Sixth Player's example.

"I see all of you look good, perfectly healthy," Akashi trained his eyes on the features of his generals one by one. "Then I will just ask directly. Do you know why you are here today?" he hardened his stare now and they all winced at that, except maybe Kuroko because he only stared at him unfazed. Just like usual he didn't flinch in Akashi's vicinity as Akashi had expected of a person that filled the 'queen' role in his chess game.

Well, Akashi knew Kuroko just used his mask very well, better than anyone else, but he must have been as scared and anxious as the others. He was expressionless, but his eyes showed emotion more than his face and his words. Akashi's eyes could see it.

Surprisingly, it was Aomine who answered it. "We missed your call, sorry," he looked annoyed, but the beads of sweat on his face informed Akashi just as clearly that he was indeed very sorry.

Kise nodded frantically beside the tan ace, his eyes already teary and his face terrified as he tried to appear as small as possible under Akashi's gaze. Of course Akashi noticed how the blond stood a little bit closer to Aomine than the rest and how he tried to hide himself behind the taller teen, as if he were seeking protection.

Akashi raised his eyebrows at that. That was new. _Since when have Ryouta and Daiki gotten so close? At the normal occurrence, usually it would be Ryouta hiding behind Tetsuya and Daiki standing slightly in front of his ex-partner. But…what did I miss when I wasn't around?_

Akashi also noticed how Midorima looked at him with a more alarmed expression and that Murasakibara took a slight distance away from him. It was also unusual. He was quite close with Midorima during their middle school days and Murasakibara would stand very close to Akashi no matter what happened.

Akashi sighed slightly. It seemed that a lot of things had changed since the last time they met at the gathering. "Alright, you knew what you did wrong. I want to know the reasons of why you broke your promise to always answer your phone when I call. I didn't even call in unreasonable hour." He continued calmly, but he didn't forget adding the edge on his voice to show how disappointed he was in their behavior.

No one seemed willing to answer that. Akashi was waiting patiently, but as the silence stretched, his temper got the better of him. "You do remember the last time one of you missed my calls, right?"

Aomine winced at that. Good. The ace still remembered.

"It… it's not like that this time," Midorima actually gulped when he spoke, stuttering slightly, so unlike the usual him.

"I believed I told you there's no excuse for the second time, no matter what the situation was," Akashi lowered his tone, seeming to send chills down to his generals' spines at how eerie his voice was.

Good. They needed the fright and terror.

"A-Akashi-chi… I swear there's a strong reason for this…" Kise's voice trembled, his body shaking, and his eyes looking very scared.

"Well, that better be the case. I would understand if one or two of you couldn't make it in time to answer the call. But the _five of you_ actually ignored my call at once…? That raised a big question. What _happened_?" Akashi asked gravely. Kise yelped and gripped Aomine's clothes more tightly than before.

"Akashi-kun…" Kuroko immediately took over before Akashi could scare Kise to death. Now Akashi focused his sharp gaze at Kuroko who took a deep breath, seemingly trying to be as calm as possible when he continued his words. "I… we… were spending time together with our loved ones last night."

Akashi kept staring at Kuroko for a long time in silence before, "What?" he finally asked. Although his facial expression didn't change much, he was actually surprised. No, maybe he was more confused than surprised. Or maybe Akashi just simply heard Kuroko wrong.

Kuroko actually blushed slightly at the question and Akashi's left eye twitched. The teal haired boy averted his gaze looking rather shy for some reason, such that the twitch increased in number and intensity. Then the worst came when Murasakibara said, "That's right, Aka-chin. We were too busy _playing_ with our partners that we didn't notice there was a call."

To say that he was angry was an understatement, really, because Akashi was officially going berserk as he heard that. Of course he showed the rage by smiling his _death_ smile at those idiots. They saw it pretty well too that he was beyond mad at this point because they stepped back with paler faces. Some even tried to kick and hit Murasakibara for speaking too much.

Akashi's hands were itching to grab his scissors and throw it at their heads, but then again, killing them wouldn't do Akashi any good, so he kept his threatening expression intact, but suppressed the killing urge to the minimum level. "You… I really should give you guys a haircut. Maybe making all of you bald won't be such a bad idea since those bugs won't even glance at you anymore..." Well, at least Akashi still could use his scissors in that context.

"Noooo! Akashi-chi! Please don't! My modeling career will be over if I'm bald! Waaaah!" Of course Kise would be the first to crack. He actually cried with both hands trying to cover his head.

"T-thank you very much for your offer, Akashi, but NO. My hair is short enough and I will look horrendous with bald head." Aomine actually looked ready to bolt at seeing the metallic scissors in Akashi's hand. His face was very pale as well.

"My parents will lock me up in the house if I'm bald, Akashi, just to make sure I won't shame them with my bald head," Midorima shuddered, seeming about to panic at that point.

"Will Aka-chin still spoil me if I'm bald?" Murasakibara was sweating slightly as he asked.

"I must humbly decline your offer at all cost," despite sounding and acting polite with his half bow, Kuroko's line seemed to be spoken with total certainty that he would struggle as much as possible to stop Akashi from getting anywhere near his hair with a pair of scissors.

Akashi was getting more irritated at this point. "Who and where are those leeches?" He would dispose them, seriously.

"Akashi-kun, please…" hearing Kuroko's plea, Akashi toned down his killing intent more. Apparently, he wasn't very success in controlling his urge to destroy something or _some people_ at that matter since the black aura was still pouring into the air around Akashi's body and several yards ahead.

"Have you guys forgotten about your oath?" Akashi asked, narrowing his eyes dangerously at the still trembling guys in front of him.

"No," Kuroko said.

"Then what were you guys doing, choosing your partner over me?" Akashi hissed slightly.

"No, we did not!" Midorima objected looking scandalized.

"It was different, Akashi!" Aomine raised his voice but he immediately averted his gaze from the redhead when he set his glare at the tan ace.

"We-we love our partners, but our loyalty is still with you! We swear!" Kise exclaimed earnestly.

"What is that? You can't possibly think that you can divide your loyalty and love into two different compartments. If there's a time where you have to choose between me and your loved one, you can only choose one. I don't care if you want to fool around, but don't forget. When the situation turns to the worse, it is me you have to listen to," Akashi said sternly.

Kuroko looked surprised as he heard that, but then he seemed to harden his heart. "Our life is ours, Akashi-kun. You can't choose for us," he said.

Akashi smirked at that. "Your life isn't only yours," he responded coldly and the others snapped as they heard the implication of it as well. "Don't forget. Whatever I do, it's for your own good. If you value your lives, don't question me and do as I say."

It was the best that Akashi could do to keep them in line. That was the sentence he kept repeating and practicing over and over in front of a mirror to perfect his expression and tone, so there was no opening, not even a single crack where they could find the true meaning behind the threat and the tyrannous mask.

"Ah, jeez… I can't watch it anymore!"

Suddenly some… people showed up from behind Akashi and he was surprised because he didn't feel their presence nearby just a moment before. Maybe it was because he was too focused on his generals, but still. He narrowed his eyes when he found Kagami Taiga, Himuro Tatsuya and Takao Kazunari there.

"The longer we listen to this ridiculousness, the more we felt the need to intervene," Takao said, huffing, looking rather annoyed for some reasons.

"It is nice to meet you, Akashi Seijuurou-kun. I really wish that we could meet in different circumstances, though," Himuro said slowly, smiling politely at the redhead, but Akashi could just see through his smile that he wasn't very pleased as well with this situation.

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko looked concerned immediately.

Well, that was new. For the usually stoic and expressionless Kuroko to actually react that strongly until he showed such expression… so the loved one Kuroko had mentioned earlier must have been this person. Kagami Taiga. What an eyesore.

"Takao! I told you to stay still!" Midorima reprimanded the owner of the Hawk Eye.

Takao Kazunari. The one Midorima gave his full trust in court. It seemed that the court wasn't the only place he gave him his confidence… no. For Akashi's eyes, it looked more than just simple trust and confidence. Could it be… affection? Even Midorima could have such feeling for another person. That was surprising since even in Akashi's eyes Midorima was a unique individual. Who would have thought that someone beside Akashi could see such a charm in Midorima's personality?

"Muro-chin… you shouldn't have come out…" Murasakibara spoke slowly, looking mildly worried as well.

Even Murasakibara… the usually spoiled lazy Murasakibara… showed such a worried look towards someone else other than Akashi… What had happened when he was away? Where had his ruthless warrior gone to? Who were these people, showing such weakness in front of Akashi like that?

Didn't they know how dangerous it was to show such obvious affection in front of Akashi? He already had their weaknesses in his hand, but they just added the ammunition to give Akashi and _them_ more chances to break them.

"Bunch of fools that don't know their places," Akashi mumbled, looking down on the three guys even though it was rather difficult because they were taller than him. It was seriously annoying. Maybe he would make them kneel over as well after this.

"You know, I really couldn't stand you," Kagami said, glaring at Akashi and Akashi was about to say that he too despised Kagami's being, but he blinked in surprise when Kagamo suddenly sat in front of him. He actually sat on the ground. It was such a sudden gesture that even Akashi couldn't predict it, throwing him off.

"What… are you doing?" Akashi couldn't help asking and he was even more confused when Takao and Himuro followed Kagami's example and sat down as well. The other GoM also looked very surprised at this turn of event.

"You have a bad habit of forcing people taller than you to collapse so you can look down on them, right? We thought we will spare you the trouble because we don't care about our places," Kagami said, looking upward at Akashi in the eye without the slightest shame.

"In this position, not even Akashi Seijurou can make us fall, huh? Crazy, but nice work, Kagami, I LIKE this," Takao snickered heartily.

"Taiga is a street-smart kind of guy. He knows how to deal with troublesome individuals," Himuro laughed slightly at that.

"So that's how it is. Will you give us a chance to speak if we know our places, Akashi Seijuurou?" Kagami asked again and honestly, it was the first time that he was faced by some people who were actually _willingly_ placing themselves lower than him despite being his opponents. It was… rather surprising because he usually had to force them first to do that.

This was really unexpected. For the first time in his life, Akashi Seijuurou didn't know how to response to a situation. Kagami asked for a chance to speak to him, right? What did he…?

Akashi snapped in realization as his eyes caught a sight of some people around them. _Since when…?!_

This wasn't the time to talk anymore. Akashi checked his watch. He had wasted time since he spoke to his minions. He didn't realize that he had taken too much time to reprimand them about their miss that he failed to get away before they were surrounded.

"Tsk," Akashi clicked his tongue and sighed slightly in exasperation. "Alright then, but I don't think I want to waste my time here anymore than I already have," he said as he looked back at Kagami and the other two guys that weren't part of his GoM members.

"You will speak with us, then?" Himuro raised his face, his visible eye alight with delight.

"Another time. I will give you the time and place to meet. Now, I have to go," Akashi then turned over to his GoM and looked at them one by one with meaningful intensity. "You are all dismissed for now. But your punishment will come for you. Watch your backs," he said before walking away, not looking back at them anymore until he was sure the people that surrounded them followed him away from his minions.

Akashi looked back just once and caught the sight of Momoi and a woman with red hair approaching the other guys at the meeting place earlier. He widened his eyes slightly as he saw the red haired woman's face from afar.

_Mother…?_

But Akashi immediately noticed that she wasn't actually his mother. Although, he was quite taken aback by the resemblance, he perfectly realized that his mother wouldn't wear such modern clothes and style her hair in such a… ordinary hairstyle. Simple high pony tail wouldn't suit her. But then again, how come there was a woman who looked like his mother and she was even talking to his minions and their partners.

_Impossible. Did mother do something when I was away…?_—Akashi couldn't help thinking while clenching his fist. He set his dangerous look when a black limousine stopped in front of him and someone opened the passenger door, revealing a guy, the first waiter from the café he had visited earlier that had served him the cups of coffee he had smacked away because he knew they were spiked with something.

"We have been waiting for you, Seijuurou-sama. Let's go home," the man said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes and Akashi could only glare harder at the car.

The thought that his own family wanted to kidnap him was sickening and ridiculous. But she could do something like this using any means necessary if it meant that she would get what she wants. "Mother…"

Akashi knew he wouldn't get too far if he ran. Moreover, those guys would get involved if he tried anything funny. Akashi wasn't stupid enough to do something that could unnecessarily endanger his possessions. "Alright, bring me home," he said as he got in the car and let himself be taken away to where his family was.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"You guys alright?" Setsuna asked as she and Momoi checked on her son and his friends. They were helping each other stand up.

Well, Kuroko helped Kagami, Midorima helped Takao and Murasakibara helped Himuro. Aomine and Kise also helped the three straighten themselves afterwards.

"Yeah," Kagami said. "Though, I didn't expect that he would agree that easily…" He looked puzzled at that. "He looked kind of strange when he left," he continued.

"You noticed too?" Takao piped in. "He looked kind of surprised earlier. Well, he started to act strange after some people showed up," he said.

"What people?" Himuro asked and the others also looked at Takao wonderingly.

"Dunno. But they hid around this park. My 'Hawk Eyes' saw them slightly, but they quickly left as soon as Akashi walked away," Takao explained.

"What… does that mean…?" Momoi asked, looking confused as the others appeared mystified as well.

"I see… so that's how it is…" Setsuna mumbled slowly, understanding what was going on immediately.

"What is it, mom? You know something, don't you?" Kagami asked, looking at her curiously.

"I had my suspicion earlier about the accident you guys mention during your third year, about the basketball gamble and the rumor that Seijuurou-kun controlled some bad people," Setsuna said with a small smile.

"And?" they asked in unison. Everyone blinked at each other in surprise before looking at one another, seeming to recognize the look of perplexity in each person's eyes.

"I noticed… that it was the other way around," Setsuna said in confidence.

The others widened their eyes at her announcement. "Eh?"

"Akashi Seijuurou… is actually trying to protect you guys."

**End of Chapter 5**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, yes, yes! Finally this chapter comes out! Just a little bit more complications and the climax will explode! XD But, too bad I can't bring out Furihata here. I need Akashi to interact with the GoM first. And the next is Akashi interacting with his family... fufufu. It's here. Maybe I will write it down ASAP so I can update faster! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as I enjoy making it. Now, time for feed back! Let me know what you think! ^_^


	6. Part 6

**Disclaimer: As always, not mine. Just play with the characters~3**

**Warning: **_language, shounen ai, slight oOC, OCs, etc._

**Beta: tora-chan38.** Thank you very much for the help as always! I can't to do this without you, dear!

**A/N: **Okay, sorry for taking so long in updating. Had lots of things to do to prepare for a tournament, so… Ah, thanks for the reviews in previous chapter, oh! And of course for faving and alerting this story! XD Now, please enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

**Signal**

_**Part 6**_

* * *

Akashi stayed calm in easy silence as he was brought all the way to the Akashi Family main house despite the driver trying to engage him in a conversation. He wasn't in the mood to talk, so he ignored the man completely.

"It has been awhile since you came home, Seijuurou-sama," the driver said with an empty smile, his face reflected on the front mirror. "You must be quite excited."

_Hn, as if—_Akashi thought, stubbornly keeping his quietness despite his urge to at least complain about certain things.

It was true that Akashi no longer lived in the main house since entering middle school, and he would only go home to the main house on special occasions, like New Years, his mother's birthday party and/_or_ his parents' anniversary, but that didn't mean he had to be eager to be home as well.

Honestly, Akashi didn't like staying in the main house for too long with his own family, especially when his mother was there.

As hard as it was to believe, it wasn't because Akashi disliked his mother. It was more because of the nature of his family… _yes_. It was more complicated. He _despised_ his mother in one aspect, but he loved everything else about her. In short, he didn't get along well with her, despite loving her.

Akashi wouldn't admit it out loud or to anyone else, but for him… his mother was like his natural nemesis.

_Because we are so alike—_Akashi concluded. He was glad that she was there because she was the only person in this entire world who could catch on to whatever he was planning. The unexpected of what she could do entertained him sometimes, but at the same time, he wanted her to withhold her capabilities as well since she was prone to disturbing his plans.

Akashi sneered slightly as the limousine stopped in front of a big gate of a traditional Japanese style house.

"We are here, Seijuurou-sama," the driver informed, though it was quite obvious.

Akashi closed his eyes before opening them again and sighed. He didn't want to admit defeat (because he wasn't, seriously), but he would humor his mother once in awhile, just to show her that she couldn't get in his way without permission.

Akashi was annoyed that Kurenai always had a knack to bother him one way or another even though he didn't want the distraction at all.

_Maybe talking to her will somehow tone down her urge to trouble me continuously—_Akashi pondered as he got out of the car and walked down to enter the gate.

Immediately after the wooden traditional gate, which was crafted with an elegant peacock design and presently opened from the inside, some people were lined up on the side of the main path that led to the front door of the main house. They also bowed 90 degrees while shouting "Welcome home, Young Master!" as a greeting in unison immediately.

"Hn," Akashi sighed slightly before greeting back, "I'm home." He then stepped inside the gate and walked towards the front door at an even stride.

"How is your day going, Young Master?"

"Do you enjoy your school in Kyoto?"

"Are you going to stay in the main house for the winter break?"

Some of the men asked while he was walking, but Akashi just ignored them and faced straight forward.

"Ah, Seijuurou-sama is so cool today as well!"

Well, apparently they misunderstood. Akashi actually ignored them on purpose because he didn't want to deal with them, but they conveniently mistook it as a _cool_ gesture.

Well, it couldn't be helped. Akashi was quite well known as a cold hearted young master that wouldn't trouble himself with people that were less powerful than him in the family. But that wasn't his intention. He just didn't want to get involved with them generally because…

"Heeey! Young Master is back! Hurry, inform Big Sister immediately!"

Akashi twitched slightly as scary looking men in suits scrambled around here and there, dutifully greeting him (some of them actually did that on their knees, seriously) as he entered the house.

"Seijuurou-sama, welcome!"

"Welcome home, Seijuurou-sama!"

Akashi was getting annoyed at their loud voices. "Be quiet, you imbeciles. Your voices are grating my nerves," he finally said something while looking down on them in irritation.

The men gasped before they stared at him as if they were love-struck instead of offended.

"Wow, Master is so awesome!"

"Ah, that deadly glare~! Big Sis will be so proud!"

A bead of sweat rolled down Akashi's cheeks as he let out a long suffering sigh at the enthusiastic reactions. Really, they were such masochistic bastards. Akashi was kind of worried that his elegant and gentleman personality would turn into the worst while dealing with them.

"Is mother around? I'd like to greet her and speak to her _privately_," Akashi huffed. He didn't intend to stay longer in the house more than necessary. If he was called to go home to speak with her, he would just do that and then leave immediately.

"Ah, Kurenai-sama is in the tearoom. She is playing Shogi right now. Does Young Master want to accompany her?" One of the men asked politely and Akashi nodded. "Then, let me escort you there!"

"Aah! Not fair, Aniki! I want to escort Seijuurou-sama too!" a younger one protested to the older man, pouting at him while making 'boo-ing' noise.

"Shut your trap, brat! It's ten years too early for you to complain to your big bro!" the man retaliated as veins began to dangerously throb on Akashi's temple. He was trying to control of his temper, but hearing those ugly men bicker gave him a headache.

Akashi actually waited for a good three minutes, letting them bicker over who would escort him until he snapped. "Forget it. I can go myself," he almost hissed at them as he resumed his walk.

"Ah!" the two guys blanched as they saw the angry glare from their Young Master. "We're very sorry!" they immediately bowed very repentantly.

Akashi ignored them as he left, not wanting to entertain the idea of maiming them half-dead for ignoring him as a good idea. Akashi found his way to the main hall soon after and turned left to go down the stairs, entering the lower chamber that held some ceremonial rooms. One of them was the tearoom that faced the backyard garden directly.

Kurenai loved flowers. She forced all her children to learn _Ikebana_ (1) for her amusement. But of course she did that in a very sly way, with her tears and her pleas, and no men in their right mind would be able to turn down such request.

Akashi had just thought he loved ikebana as well until he realized that he actually did it to please his mother. Flowers didn't hold any special meaning for him; they were just a way to get her approval. It somehow sounded ridiculous coming from him now, as he had done exactly what she did to him, but to his minions to get what he wanted.

Akashi was raised that way. He learned about the world through his mother's way of thinking, much to his dismay. His father's more… naïve and honest way of thinking never got past the barrier his mother had set up to guard his mind since he was little.

Don't get him wrong. Akashi's father was a very brilliant businessman. He was charismatic and many people adored him as a very successful and great person. Moreover, he was generous and friendly, but that's it. He was naive and sometimes downright too sympathetic when he was dealing with humans in general.

He was an easy prey for many low-lives living among the human race. That's why Kurenai was there beside him. She could see those low-lives who tried to sabotage his business or just plainly use him for their own benefit.

Before they could do something harmful to her husband and her precious Akashi family, Kurenai would destroy them first. That's why the Akashi Family was so powerful in Japan, both financially and politically.

Akashi stopped in front of the tearoom, sat down formally, and took a deep breath before knocking twice on the wooden sliding door. "Excuse me, Mother. It's Seijuurou," he said in a clear short greeting.

There was a faint rustle from inside the room before a soft voice answered, "Come in."

Akashi slowly slid the door open, stood up, and entered before he sat down again and slid the door close. He bowed slightly to a very beautiful red haired woman, dressed in her extravagant flaming-red Kimono, in front of him with so much respect and politeness that people would hardly recognize him as Akashi Seijuurou for actually looking up to someone else in that extent.

"It's been awhile, Mother. I came to see you," Akashi said calmly before he straightened his body again and leveled his gaze at the woman with an eye patch on her left eye, a faint smile adorning his expression.

"Welcome home, Seijuurou-san. It's been eight months since the last time I saw you in the main house," Kurenai replied, giving him a small smile back, but her visible golden eye looked at him rather calculatingly. "You were not trying to avoid me, were you?"

Akashi almost winced, _almost_, but he could still maintain his smile nicely at the slightly inquiring (_or_ _accusing_) tone. "Well, I never intended to avoid you purposely, Mother. It just happens sometimes. Basketballs and school activities tend to rob my time from thinking about anything else," he answered slowly and surely. He didn't need to lie either because that was true anyway. Commuting trains from Kyoto to Tokyo all the time was impossible with his school and basketball practice schedules.

"Hmm… you always have way with words, Seijuurou-san. I see… you kept yourself busy for the entire time so you did not have to think about the family matter," Kurenai chuckled and Akashi might have sweated a little at how good she was at reading between the lines.

There was a brief silence after Akashi chuckled as well, mimicking her action, somehow rather amused despite the increasing pace of his heartbeat for some unfathomable reasons. He then looked upward at Kurenai again before deciding to ask, "How is everyone doing, by the way?"

Kurenai's smile widened slightly. "Changing the subject so you do not have to answer, nice move," she praised, looking impressed by the subtle hint.

"I didn't mean to change the subject. I didn't think I need to answer your question because you already know the answer," Akashi said in his defense even though he didn't actually need to do that. He just didn't want her to get the wrong idea that she was pressuring him.

Kurenai looked slightly skeptical, but she seemed to relent afterwards, her smile never leaving her expression. "Alright, if you insist," she chuckled again. "Everyone is doing well on their part. There's nothing wrong in my little kingdom," she said, looking happy and content.

Yes, Kurenai was like this. She saw everything under her wings as her personal kingdom. Everything she did and wanted to do was based on her calculations seen through her Emperor Eye; about the things she expected to happen, about reactions she expected to emerge from a series of certain events that she had arranged, etc. She always took pleasure in confirming that everything she thought of was right and according to plan.

Akashi took Kurenai's way of seeing the world as his own. He was so alike to her it was almost ridiculous. However, one thing that he couldn't accept was…

"So, have you decided to take my place when I retire?" Kurenai asked now, still smiling so fondly sweet that Akashi thought she was playing him as well.

That wasn't going to happen though.

Akashi smiled back. "I already told you I wasn't interested in 'this side' of the world, Mother. Why didn't you give that role to Soujirou? He already showed his interest in expanding territory by doing a lot of suicidal actions that forced me to clean up his mess just because I don't want him to stain Akashi Family name with more blood than necessary," he said, honestly annoyed that he was steered to this conversation again.

"That is the point. You clean up so brilliantly. A quality befitted of a leader," Kurenai insisted, her smile never faltering.

Akashi heaved a long sigh. "I'm a capable leader, but I don't wish to involve myself further in 'this world' because I have my own life to live," he explained. Why couldn't she see that he wouldn't succeed her place as the 'shadow master' no matter what?

"Soujirou is more infatuated with you than with me. He wishes for you to succeed soon," Kurenai said again, seeming to disregard his reasoning. However, there was a difference in how she spoke this time. Her smile was intact, but there was an edge to her voice that Akashi had never heard before from his mother.

"Mother…?" Akashi was a little bit caught off guard with her intonation before he registered what she had just said. "Wait, Soujirou? What are you talking about?" He was rather confused now.

"That boy… his actions are getting out of hand," Kurenai said, reaching out her hand. "Come here, Seijuurou-san. Let Mother have a good look of your face," she requested suddenly, to Akashi's utter puzzlement of the sudden change of subject.

Akashi didn't question her as he slowly stood and approached his mother before sitting in front of her more closely. Kurenai reached her hand to him and then put her palm on Akashi's cheek. "Ah… it's been awhile indeed. You've grown so much in the past year," she said stroking his cheek softly.

Akashi twitched lightly. He hadn't grown a single inch since last year. He really wanted to retort, but he needed to be patient with his mother. He could always vent of his stress over his height on other people. There were plenty in this world he could demolish or simply cut with his scissors.

Kurenai was off limits. After all, if it weren't for her, Akashi wouldn't have been born in this world.

"Mother, about Soujirou…" Akashi tried to coax her into spill more information, since that matter was still hanging and she was rather distracted at that moment.

"Ah, yes… Soujirou… it is," Kurenai shook her head slightly before saying, "He is… how do you call it? Undergoing a rebellious phase, I believe," she chuckled at that. Akashi wanted to say that he himself was as well, but thought better of it and just raised his eyebrows, urging her to continue. "He is getting very unpredictable, his behavior, I mean. He never does what I expect him to do… I must say, as much as I am ashamed of it, I cannot control him anymore," she admitted, sighing and frowning slightly as well.

"Well, he does get too violent sometimes. It's worrying," Akashi understood immediately what she was implying. He didn't care if she wanted to get rid of Soujirou. It didn't concern Akashi at all. "So, what does this have any to do with me succeeding?" he asked, frowning.

"I told you. Soujirou is smitten with you… from the very beginning the way I see it. He really adores you, his older brother, very much after all," she smiled in amusement.

Akashi went rigid at that. "I didn't remember considering him as my little brother. I have no brother that I acknowledge," he said, turning serious.

"Except Kuroko Tetsuya," Kurenai repeated the words he said two years ago, before the accident happened. He widened his eyes slightly before immediately narrowing them at his mother's golden colored one. Her eye was brimming with mirth as he stared harder.

"What is your point?" Akashi lowered his tone, almost downright growling in anger at the 'threat' implication.

"The accident when you got 'The Eye'," Kurenai whispered, worming her finger closer to Akashi left golden eye. "Was it Soujirou's doing… because one of your 'generals' troubled you with his action, who was it again… Aomine Daiki?"

"It was according to my plan," Akashi said coldly.

"A plan you made on the spot just before Soujirou decided to destroy that ace's basketball career," she 'corrected' it while lifting his chin to look into her mesmerizing eye. "A very good plan, indeed… since the opportunity just came to you, so you could have _this_," she smirked, stroking the area around his Akashi's left eye with her thumb. Her rose colored nail dug slightly in his skin, as if she were about to gauge it out once again.

Akashi remained silent, only looking at her in the eye, expression turning perfectly impassive, so Kurenai wouldn't see how his inner self was conflicted at her words. Kurenai smiled again gently. "Soujirou is threatening to destroy your 'little perfect world', Seijuurou-san," she continued, backing off slightly to give Akashi his space as she seemed to realize that Akashi didn't even flinch, lest crack at what she was doing to him.

"Well, Soujirou did it out of love though… stupidly, infuriatingly, because he couldn't stand seeing your suffering from wishing and yearning that your generals would stick together no matter what," she looked another way, looking forlorn for some reason.

"I felt no such thing," was Akashi's even reply, denying and possibly not understanding what she said.

Kurenai smiled. "Humans… are creatures that cannot live in solitude, no matter how much they wish that they could survive alone… it is just not enough," Kurenai closed her eye now, looking so serene and ethereal that Akashi couldn't help staring at her openly.

"What are you implying, mother?" Akashi hated it when she spoke in riddles. Despite his brilliant mind, it was hard to decipher her words sometimes. He wished she could just tell him straightly.

Kurenai opened her eye and turned to face Akashi again. Her gaze somehow looked rather sympathetic and that irked Akashi slightly. "You might not realize it yet Seijuurou-san, but your world… is not just yours anymore," she said slowly.

"Huh?" Akashi was plainly bemused now.

"For you it might look like an absolute world… but I can assure you. It is imperfect. As one of the Akashis, I have raised you so meticulously well that sometimes you just cannot see what is too obvious. I had taught you to read the actions behind the words, to read the intentions behind the actions, but I never really considered that this could be your downfall as well… trapped inside your little 'ideal world' that is not perfect at all," Kurenai put both her palms on Akashi's cheeks, looking at him so sadly and heartbreakingly that Akashi was slightly disturbed.

Moreover, Akashi still didn't understand a single word she was saying.

"Mother…?" Akashi tried to push her away lightly, but her hold on his face was too firm.

"My miserable child…" Kurenai whispered before giving Akashi a soft gentle kiss on his forehead while holding him close. "I will always protect you, even if I have to cut all the ties you have with the world outside mine, as long as you can remain unharmed, then… I will do it."

A very unpleasant shiver ran down Akashi's spine as he heard those words, words that screamed 'You are mine' in such a diabolic way that nausea instantly hit Akashi. He would have hurled if it weren't for his iron self control to remain calm with a poker face.

It lasted only for a moment in actuality, but for Akashi, it almost felt like a lifetime before she released him. "Soujirou listens to you. You can control him. He will not go astray if you come back to succeed quickly and end your foolish belief in your basketball circle. You will not even play that game forever, Seijuurou-san," she said, smiling again pleasantly while Akashi was still trying to fight the queasiness in his stomach.

Akashi glared at Kurenai in dissent. Considering his basketball as foolish was going over the line. Even if it was Kurenai, Akashi was feeling angry with her for that one comment.

As if she could read the remonstration at the tip of Akashi's tongue (_wrong, she definitely could_), she quickly added, "Listen to me, Seijuurou-san. If you stubbornly want to keep that 'little world' existing, let go of it and watch it from afar. Soujirou is not as tolerant as me. He _does not_ listen to me anymore. What do you think he will do to your 'generals' when he knows you do not want to come back because of them?"

Akashi actually gritted his teeth at that. "Is that a threat?" He couldn't believe this. Was his mother really that _desperate_ that she even used a threat on him?

_Soujirou's matter is indeed worrying, but he has no brain to pull such things without risking getting caught by the police…_—Akashi knew better than taking what Kurenai said as a warning. She was threatening him that she would even use Soujirou to destroy the Generation of Miracles if he didn't accept the succession.

"Consider it as you like. You just have to remember that this is for your own benefit, my dear, dear beloved son…" Kurenai smiled again at Akashi, who chose to cease all of his expressions and stay silent about the matter.

It was at a time like this that Akashi wished his mother to disappear. He wished he hated her so that it would be easier.

_Why… you asked? That's because…_

_Because…_

Just like Akashi had mentioned a few times back, over and over only so he wouldn't forget.

Akashi… and his generals were like Shogi pieces.

Akashi was the King on the chessboard.

Akashi's life was a chess game.

And Kurenai, his mother, was the player of that chess game.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Monday rolled around quite calmly despite the event that happened the previous day.

Murasakibara and Himuro decided to stay in Kagami's apartment for another night after Himuro contacted their other teammates, captain and coach that they had to skip school and practice for family matters.

Aomine and Kise did the same thing, but in Aomine's case, Momoi did the contacting with whatever she came up with as the reasons for them skipping school and practice. Kasamatsu yelled at Kise through the phone that this was the last time Kasamatsu would be on the Kaijou basketball team and after that day he would resign because his time was up and if Kise would be alright not being able to play with him anymore. That's why, on Monday morning Kise immediately said good bye to everyone and went back to Kanagawa only to attend the 'last minute' practice before Kasamatsu officially resigned from the club.

Aomine wanted to go with him, but Kise told him to stay beside Momoi because she needed more protection than he did. "And stop treating me like a girl, Aomine-chi. I'm a man just like you. I'll be okay. Besides, Kanagawa is a faraway place from here," the blond huffed at him at the station.

"Not far enough. You heard what Setsuna-san said yesterday," Aomine said stubbornly, looking displeased at having to part with Kise when the situation was still undoubtedly dangerous for them to act alone.

Kise rolled his eyes. "Aomine-chi, trust me. I will be with senpai and the others all the time. I'll make sure not to walk alone," he said reassuringly and Aomine could only sigh in defeat at the confidence Kise showed him.

"Alright," the tan ace said, throwing his hands on the air in a surrendering gesture, "But you have to text me every hour to check up," he added gruffly afterwards.

"Two hours," Kise chuckled and shook his pretty blond head at Aomine's paranoia.

"Fine, every two hours," Aomine agreed, albeit reluctantly.

On the other hand, Midorima and Takao decided to go home Sunday night and keep going to school the next morning.

"If I let him bother my everyday life to the point where I can't even go to school out of fear of his threat, I wouldn't have survived living as his friend for the past three years," Midorima scowled, as he opened his front door, only to be surprised when Takao suddenly showed up with a cheery grin at his doorstep.

"I'll stay by your side all the time, just in case," Takao said after waving 'hello' to Midorima's mother and father as they went to school together.

"You don't have to," Midorima was annoyed even though there was that surge of warmth in his chest at Takao's thoughtfulness.

"Well, I just want to look cool in front of my Shin-chan," Takao grinned mischievously and Midorima flushed before scolding him to stop being so embarrassing in public.

Takao seemed to know that Midorima was quite happy though, so he just hugged Midorima's arm and Midorima let him despite the odd stares some people threw their way.

Meanwhile, Kagami and Kuroko were in school, practicing with the rest of the Seirin team after Riko interrogated them about the text message Kuroko had sent her about Akashi Seijuurou being in town the day before.

"How do you think _he_ will react when he knows who I am?" Kagami asked absentmindedly as he was shooting the ball from the free-throw line.

Kuroko was practicing his drive against Mitobe when he heard the off-hand question. He stopped his movement long enough to glance at the redhead before continuing. In a split second he disappeared from Mitobe's sight to run past him and shoot his phantom shot against Hyuuga's mark.

"Damn! I can't see the ball!" Hyuuga cursed, but he was smiling for some reason when the ball swished inside the basket a short time later. He must have been quite proud and impressed at Kuroko's progress during this point.

Kuroko jogged to Kagami's side as the redhead turned around slightly to face the bluenet. "Do you plan to tell Akashi-kun about your relation with him?" he asked slowly, his curiosity somehow clear in his sky-blue eyes despite his deadpan expression.

"After what we heard yesterday, there's no way I could just leave him be, right? If he was forced to do that kind of thing by his 'family'… no wonder he was so adamant about making you guys 'his'," Kagami was rather affronted as he spoke, slightly pained even.

Kuroko looked down, looking rather disheartened himself. "All I want is just… for Akashi-kun to be free…" he whispered it so quietly that Kagami had to strain his hearing just to catch his toneless words, but he could read the strong emotion in it, and that caused Kagami's heart to ache a little.

Kagami was about to pull Kuroko into a reassuring hug when Riko blew her whistle, epically interrupting the moment. "We'll have the mini game between the first years and the second years! Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun, stop getting distracted. Sheesh, even if you guys met Akashi Seijuurou yesterday, that isn't a reason for you to disregard your practice. Look at Furihata-kun! He was captured by him yesterday, but he's fine and even worked up now," the brunette pointed at Furihata who cringed at that.

"That's because Coach threatened to triple my training menu if I slacked off today, right…?" the boy literally sobbed as he passed the ball at Kawahara.

Fukuda patted his back while smiling, "There, there…" with a tinge of sympathy in his tone.

Kuroko and Kagami looked at each other before they turned to stare at Furihata who was _now _being tortured by their coach for daring to talk back at her with his mumbles. Kagami was quite baffled and Kuroko seemed to be mystified. They agreed silently to ask some questions about his encounter with Akashi the previous day, later.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

At lunch break, Kagami and Kuroko headed to 1-D, Furihata's class, to ask him to have lunch with them.

"Sure, at the cafeteria?" Furihata stood from his seat as he saw Kagami lift up his jumbo sized bread from outside his class to his direction.

Fukuda, who sat two seats behind Furihata, also stood. "Count me in!" he said while grinning.

The four first years then walked together to the canteen and met Kawahara on their way as they passed 1-A. "Having lunch together?" Having just emerged from the class, Kawahara raised his eyebrows as he saw them together.

The four students nodded in unison before Kuroko offered quietly, "Do you want to join too, Kawahara-kun?"

Kawahara's expression brightened at the invitation. "Awesome. I'm going to get my wallet first," he replied positively before entering his class again to retrieve his wallet and then immediately got out to join the others.

They took seats at a table in the corner of the cafeteria and started eating their respective lunches. Kuroko looked upward at Kagami as the redhead ate his bread with much gusto. He smiled slightly while the others stared at Kagami, gaping.

"Kagami… you really can stuff your stomach to such extent, huh?" Furihata said, blanching slightly as he seemed to feel rather squishy at the way Kagami eat.

"Hm? It's delicious," Kagami said with a certain sparkle in his eyes before he glanced down at Kuroko's lunch and heaved a long sigh. "Kuroko, you eat too little," he huffed.

"I feel full watching Kagami-kun eat," Kuroko said offhandedly, drinking his boxed vanilla milk slowly while holding a half-eaten sandwich in his other hand.

"What a pair of strange guys," Fukuda commented while huffing aloud at the way Kagami and Kuroko bickered.

"But, watching them like this is always enjoyable, huh? I don't know… they seem to complement each other somehow. As expected from Seirin basketball team's light and shadow," Kawahara grinned.

Furihata and Fukuda smiled, agreeing immediately before the shorter brunet then turned to face Kagami and Kuroko again while eating his own lunch. It was true that Kagami and Kuroko looked very compatible with each other. At first, it was only on the court, but lately….

Furihata noticed that Kagami and Kuroko were always together. In the classroom, during the break, at basketball practice… even when they went home. They looked very close as well, unlike the first time they met each other. Kagami smiled a lot around Kuroko and Kuroko showed more expressions when he was with Kagami.

The way Kagami and Kuroko interact with each other was kind of nice. _Is it possible that…_

"Oh, man! I'm stuffed!" Fukuda groaned while patting his stomach in satisfaction. His exclamation brought Furihata out of his inner mussing.

"Oh, nature calls," Kawahara suddenly stood up. "I'll go wash my hand first," and he was immediately off.

"Ah, I want to go too!" Fukuda stood as well before following Kawahara to the restroom direction.

"Sheesh, they didn't have to be that loud about it, did they?" Kagami shook his head and Kuroko just chuckled slightly.

Furihata's interest was piqued once more as they went back to conversing about everything and nothing. It suddenly made the brunet curious of the nature of their relationship. "Ne, Kagami and Kuroko… Are you guys dating each other?"

Kagami immediately burst out the bread that he was currently chewing and Kuroko, for some reason, bent down just in time to retrieve his fallen handkerchief from the ground. But they both looked speechless when they stared at Furihata afterwards.

"W-w-what the hell are you asking so suddenly like that?!" Kagami screeched, his face reddening spectacularly that Furihata instantly realized that he had hit the bull's eye.

"Furihata-kun, how…?" Kuroko looked surprised. Furihata was silently proud that he actually could make Kuroko wear such expression.

"No, well… you guys seem a lot closer than the first time you met. I mean… it looks very natural somehow, seeing Kagami and you together. The way you act with each other… it would be weird if you weren't dating, I guess," Furihata scratched his cheek with his index finger, feeling rather sheepish.

Kagami's face went redder at the comment and Kuroko looked down, somehow looking embarrassed as well before he showed a small smile again. "Furihata-kun… you are surprisingly quite observant, huh?"

"Eh?" Furihata blinked once before he blushed. "Eeeh? W-what's with the sudden compliment?"

"Jeez," Kagami scratched his hair slightly, face still flushing in embarrassment. "I thought we were being careful…"

"Eh?" Furihata turned to face Kagami confusedly.

"We were being careful," Kuroko nodded. "Furihata-kun is just very perceptive," he continued while sighing lightly.

"So… you're alright with us being together?" Kagami asked Furihata, his face showing a rather awkward expression.

Furihata huffed out a light laugh at that. "Of course! You guys are great together. I have nothing to complain about," he grinned now, completely supporting the idea.

Kuroko smiled with a relieved expression and Kagami was bitching at Furihata for being so noisy.

A few minutes later after they were relatively calm again, Kuroko asked, "So I heard yesterday you were with Akashi-kun for some time."

"Ah… yeah," Furihata looked down thinking about Akashi and his encounter the day before. "I was forced to entertain him when he was waiting for his minions…" he cried again, suddenly feeling so relieved that he could get away in one piece.

"Minions?" the red head visibly growled, a vein of annoyance popping on his temple.

"Did he do something to you?" Kuroko looked concerned now.

"No, well… his deadly glare was enough to make me do a _dogeza_," Furihata replied, his tears still flowing.

"A dogeza?" Kagami blinked once, looking confused before Kuroko explained what it was to the redhead. He literally dropped his jaw once he heard it. "You literally kneeled down and bowed in front of him until your forehead touched the ground?!" he repeated with a shocked look.

"It couldn't be helped! I was really terrified for interfering with his business!" Furihata said defensively, feeling very self-conscious.

"What the hell happened?" Now Kagami seemed very curious about it.

"Eh… he seemed to be in trouble… no, that wasn't right. Some people tried to bother him and insult him, and he was in the verge of stabbing them with scissors, so… I stepped out before it went down there," Furihata said, looking helpless.

Kagami's face was alternatively paling and disbelieving before he said, "You are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko gazed at Kagami in disapproval. "But… he really did not do anything to you?" he faced Furihata once again, still sounding a little bit worried.

"Well, he bought me coffee in a very fancy, expensive looking café," Furihata said, smiling slightly at the memory despite the way he was coerced to go with Akashi. "Surprisingly, he wasn't like what I thought he was before."

"Huh?" Kagami looked puzzled.

"Hey, Kuroko, about Akashi-kun… what kind of person was he during his middle school years?" Furihata ignored Kagami's confused expression as he decided to ask.

"Why do you ask?" Kuroko asked back slowly, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Um… I'm not sure. When I was with Akashi-kun, somehow… I felt strange." Furihata put his hand on his chest, feeling his heart pick up its pace at the image of Akashi's mismatched eyes he had seen at close range yesterday. "There's something about him that bugs me," he continued, closing his eyes slightly.

"Yeah, the way he could terrorize people just by being there," Kagami muttered and Kuroko seemed to kick his shin for that comment as the redhead yelped in pain.

"Err… of course, at first I was very afraid of him before I actually spoke to him, but… when we finally spent time together; I felt like… there's something more about him than meets the eye. It feels like multiple layers from a personality lumped together to hide something very precious inside… or something like that," Furihata couldn't explain it well, but more or less, that's what he felt when he thought about his time with Akashi after he was alone at home yesterday.

"Furihata-kun…" Kuroko looked astounded as he heard it. Kagami blinked once after he finished nursing his shin before turning somber at Furihata's next words.

"Maybe this is just my overly active imagination, but…"

_I want to know more about him…—_Furihata couldn't help feeling that way.

"Ha, he has that effect on other people," Kagami said, looking at the snow outside the window. "Kuroko was right. You are surprisingly very perceptive," he continued while inconspicuously glancing at Furihata once again.

Kuroko smiled as Furihata was slightly bewildered at being praised by even Kagami. "Do you want to know more about Akashi-kun, Furihata-kun?" the bluenet asked afterwards.

Furihata stared at Kuroko for a moment before making up his mind. "Will you tell me more about him?"

"Yes," Kuroko said, looking somewhat positive and confident.

Kagami glanced at Kuroko with slight uncertainty in his eyes, as if he were questioning what Kuroko was up to by telling Furihata about Akashi Seijuurou.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"Are you sure this is alright like this, Seijuurou?"

A man in his forties spoke from behind his desk in an office room of a certain big building in Tokyo. Akashi was sitting on a plush chair at the coffee table across his office desk, looking eerily calm as he sipped his tea from the cup.

"Yes, father," Akashi answered slowly after he put down the tea.

Akashi Seiji looked at the teenager concernedly before he stood and walked towards the coach across Akashi's seat and sat down in front of him. "You know you don't have to oblige in your mother's every selfishness. Just tell me and I will back you on," he said trying to find any expression of dissatisfaction on his son's face.

Unluckily, Akashi was very much alike to Seiji's wife, so the middle aged man couldn't read the boy's expression very well. His wife, Kurenai, was very good at pretending. She had so many masks that they were like her second skin. His son picked up her habit on putting them up in any situation to give them leverage.

However, Akashi was even better at hiding his own feelings. While Kurenai was always certain on showing what she wanted with her mask, Akashi was slightly different. He could put up an emotionless mask to hide his pain. He would do something about it later, but he tended to hurt himself over it and that's what Seiji didn't approve.

Akashi Seijuurou was a gentle person deep inside, but he was forced to put tough layers on it because his mother held an expectation for the boy to succeed her. Seiji had tried to speak to her about how unhealthy it was, but in the end, she didn't want to listen to him.

_Kurenai loves Seijuurou too much to let him go. _

"Mother has nothing to do with this. It is my wish… to transfer back to Tokyo," his son said, lowering his gaze to the low coffee table.

_Seijuurou…—_Seiji gazed down as well as his eyes caught the sight of his cell phone in his breast pocket. He stared at the cell phone for a moment before deciding. _Setsuna-san… it seems I have to ask for your help for real now._—He put his hand on the tip of the lid before looking upward at Akashi surely.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Aomine and Kagami shouted in unison, looking very shocked and aghast as Momoi told them about the news while they were playing one on one in a street ball court in Ginza.

"I didn't want to believe it either, but there was news about it at the Rakuzan school bulletin. My contact in Kyoto wrote it in their school newspaper and website. The whole Rakuzan team was in an uproar and the coach even called me_, ME_ of all people to ask what happened to him in Tokyo when he was here!Do you understand what this means?!" Momoi sounded very hysterical at this point.

"C-calm down, Satsuki, we don't know if he really _transfers _to Tokyo to run his plan to punish us, or if there are other reasons for his sudden transfer… oh my GOD! Is he really transferring here to Tokyo?! To what school?!" Now it was Aomine who seemed to panic after the news registered inside his mind and trampled on his sanity.

_Akashi Seijuurou is transferring back to Tokyo…!? That's insane! What about Rakuzan then?_—Kagami couldn't help gaping speechlessly as the thought was running rampant in his head, spinning at the speculation of what Akashi was up to _or _if something really happened to him.

"I don't know. But Mibuchi-san and the other regulars from his team are heading here in order to ask Akashi-kun personally and they even asked me if I could bring them to Akashi-kun… Don't they know that information about Akashi-kun is OFF LIMITS?!" Momoi was covering her face now, looking totally distressed.

Aomine and Kagami looked at each other in total perplexity before the tan ace moved to calm Momoi once again by pulling her into a hug. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked afterwards, seemingly confused.

"I don't know… but I think we should speak to him as well," Kagami looked down, already planning to call Takao and Himuro. "I'll ask mom about the Akashi Family main house she told us before. Maybe we could see him there," he clenched his fist and looked upward without a doubt.

_Akashi…!_

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"How are you doing back to the real home, Sei-nii?" Soujirou asked from where he was sitting, both palms on his chin, staring at Akashi who was playing _Go_ against himself silently.

"Don't speak to me. I'm in the middle of exercising my brain," Akashi said putting another _Go_ piece on the board, not even looking at Soujirou's face.

Souirou chuckled slightly at his statement. "Sei-nii is as cold as ever. So cool!" he exclaimed, looking very happy for some reason.

That certainly irked Akashi. "Why aren't you at school, Soujirou? It's still a day before the start of winter vacation," he spoke again after he made another move with the white piece to cover some areas on the board while thinking the next formation to counter the move.

"Well, Sei-nii is at home too. I heard that you decided to transfer back to Tokyo. I was so happy that I want to stay beside you all day, Sei-nii," Soujirou said, a teasing smirk decorating his face.

Akashi stopped focusing on his _Go_ play for a moment to face the younger one with a slight frown on his face. "That's not good. You need to go to school properly. Can't have your attendance less than mandatory or else you won't be able to graduate," he said, displeased. Soujirou was a third year now. The final exam was over, and he was certain that his brother could do well on his exam, but his behavior was another thing.

Who knows if his middle school decided to hold him back for skipping too much?

"Don't worry about that. It's taken care off. Moreover, don't you want me to play that _Go_ against you?" Soujirou flailed his hand in a dismissing gesture and then stared expectantly at Akashi.

"I refuse," Akashi huffed and went back to his playing.

"Eeeh, why?" Soujirou protested.

"Playing with you is worse than playing against a beginner. You are too easy to read so it's not even a challenge," Akashi replied and the younger made a pitiful noise of how mean Akashi was to him.

"Then, stop playing and talk to me more~!" Soujirou whined.

"Shut up or I will throw you out of my room," Akashi glared at him now, starting to feel the rise of irritation.

Soujirou's eyes visibly twinkled at that. "Are you mad yet?" he sounded so joyful at the prospect of getting a punishment from his older brother.

_Sick bastard._—Akashi sneered at the younger and sighed deeply, calming himself down. He couldn't even play _Go_ in peace with Soujirou around. That's why he hated staying at the main house. Maybe he should go back to the house he usually stayed at in Tokyo.

"Nah, Sei-nii, mother just told me this morning that she sold the small house near your middle school," Soujirou suddenly informed. Akashi widened his eyes slightly in surprise at that.

_Ck… so she even went that far to confine me in this house, huh?_—Akashi clenched his fist hard in a moment of rage, but he immediately controlled his emotion and glared icily at Soujirou.

"So what?" Akashi asked.

"Whoa, so scary…! That look is pure evil, Sei-nii! It's so awesome!" Now Soujirou was fawning over him and Akashi was ready to take his scissors and slash the guy when he heard a sudden ruckus from the front yard.

"What is that?" Akashi was alerted as he heard the tell-tale sign of struggles.

"Ah… it seems someone broke into our front yard," Soujirou smirked dangerously.

"…out here! Akashi! Come out here, damn it!"

As Akashi heard a familiar voice, he immediately stood up. "That idiot," he briskly went outside his room and quickly ran down the corridor that brought him outside, Soujirou hot on his heels while asking if Akashi knew who it was. But Akashi ignored the younger brother in favor of running faster.

As soon as he reached the front door, he stopped and stood still at the doorstep, seeing a tall red haired teenager who was struggling while being held down by three guards from the gates of his house. "What do you think you are doing, Kagami Taiga?" He stared down at the Seirin basketball team's ace in disbelief. How did Kagami know he was here anyway?

Moreover, what the hell was Kagami doing breaking into other people's house, a _yakuza_ head quarter to boot, alone and unprepared. Was he insane? Or… stupidly idiotic? Akashi heard that the buffoon wasn't so bright in the brain. Apparently that was an understatement. Kagami Taiga _didn't have_ a brain.

Kagami though, only smirked albeit rather painfully because he was being held down roughly by the guards. "Yah, cousin… It's been two days, and I got the impression that you wouldn't show your nose to contact us again, so I decided to come down here to have that _conversation_ you promised us," he said sounding confident, his crimson eyes burning with intent.

"How insolent! Don't talk with that kind of language to Seijuurou-sama!" One of the guards was ready to hit Kagami in the face, but Akashi quickly stopped him.

"Wait!"

The guard halted his movement and Akashi narrowed his eyes at Kagami. "What did you just call me?" he asked, just to make sure that he had heard him right.

Kagami's smirk widened slightly. "_Cousin_, Akashi Seijuurou," he said with poise.

_Cousin…? What is he talking about?_—Akashi didn't understand this.

"You have no idea at all, don't you, Akashi?" Kagami asked huffing out a chuckle lightly as he seemed to have realized that he surprised the smaller redhead.

"Being delusional is he?" Soujirou asked suddenly, gazing mockingly at Kagami from behind Akashi.

Kagami clearly perked up as he heard the voice and narrowed his eyes when Soujirou emerged. "So it's you… Akashi Seijuurou's shadow, Akashi Soujirou," he mumbled out loud seriously and it surprised Akashi even more that Kagami actually knew Soujirou.

"Hoo? He knows me? How rare… someone actually knows me as my brother's shadow," Soujirou smirked, looking down at Kagami with predatory look.

"Why… how did you…?" Akashi, for the first time in his life, seemed to have lost words. He liked the unexpected, but a surprise to this extent wasn't healthy for his heart.

"I'll tell you everything, Akashi. Let me talk to you and I'll tell you everything that I know because I need some answers from you as well," Kagami said looking very sincere, now facing Akashi once again after glaring at Soujirou.

_All… explanations…_

Akashi turned serious as well in reaction. "Very well," he said surely. "Let him go. I need to speak with him," he ordered the guards, who immediately released their hold on Kagami's body without many questions.

"Sei-nii!" Soujirou obviously protested, but Akashi ignored him as he addressed Kagami now.

"Follow me, Kagami Taiga. I will make you explain everything," Akashi then led Kagami who responded to his order with a light snort, standing up and dusting himself before following Akashi.

"Yeah, right, I _want _to explain things not because you want me to, but because you need to know," Kagami grumbled.

Akashi remained silent as he steered Kagami to go to a secluded area. He had sent Soujirou away because he needed to speak privately with Kagami. "Now spill," he ordered.

"Firstly, you need to know the history of our parents," Kagami said. "Are you ready, Akashi? This is huge."

"Bring it on."

**End of Part 6**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**Additional Notes:**

**1)**_**Ikebana**_**: **flower arranging activity

**A/N: **Ugh… sorry for being so late in posting this. It took a LOT of time to construct this chapter. I being busy with preparation for a tournament wasn't helping as well. Yes, I won't be able to update for awhile (I hope not more than two weeks) because I have to participate in a table tennis match at the other city. Won't be able to write and access computer for the time being starting at October 17th. Wish me luck!

I'll try to make up my tardiness in updating with more words. Tell me if it's too long for you, and I will divide it into two parts!


	7. Part 7

**Disclaimer: Tadatoshi Fujimaki owns Kurobasu and its characters. Luna only owns the plot and the OCs.**

**Warning: **_as usual *lol*_

**A/N: **Yosh, everyone! I'm back from my tournament! Too bad, got defeated in best 8, but it's okay for a national level tournament, yeah.

Sorry for the delay in updating! I actually had this one typed up at Monday, but had to get it checked first before I could post it! Now, thanks a LOT for _**tora-chan83**_ for the help! Can't really do this without you, dear! Also thanks a bunch for readers' reviews, faves and alerts! Saa, no need to wait any longer! ENJOY!

* * *

**Signal**

_**Part 7**_

* * *

Setsuna was drinking a cup of coffee inside a certain maid café at Akihabara. She was humming as she looked at her cell phone and smiled happily when she got a text from her beloved husband in the States.

"Aww, Taira is such a sweetie," she giggled as she read the overly affectionate text from the usually awkward man. Her husband could be so passionate when he was in the mood to be lovey-dovey, even though he was usually gruff and gauche, just like her adorable son.

Really, Kagami must have gotten that personality trait from his father. Though, Setsuna had to admit that she was surprised at first when she found out her son was actually in love with a boy. However, judging from the way Kuroko acts towards her son, she believed that he loved Kagami as much as Kagami did him, if not more. Kagami was serious too about his relationship with Kuroko.

Setsuna had no problem whatsoever with her son being gay or bi or whatever. As long as Kagami treated his relationship seriously, she wouldn't complain. The problem at hand now was…Kuroko and his friends being involved with Akashi Family, even though it was only with Akashi Seijuurou, the eldest son.

Although Setsuna had vowed that she would never come back to the Akashi Family, it seemed that she would have to do something since if Akashi Seijuurou was in it, then her sister would have her eyes on them too.

Setsuna actually didn't want Kagami to know about their relation with Akashi Family, even when she sent him back to Japan three years ago. She just hoped that Kagami would stay off the radar of Kurenai's Eyes. Three years ago, Kurenai's contact finally caught up with Setsuna's whereabouts after she disappeared for almost 14 years. To think that Kurenai would find her and her husband for real was very surprising.

The Akashi Family had grown so much more under Kurenai and Seiji's care. Her father and grandfather must have been very proud of them. But seriously… Setsuna didn't think that Kurenai was serious when she declared that she would chase her down and catch her no matter how far she ran away with Taira.

"_Nee-sama is also a part of _my_ Akashi Family. This time you can get away, but I swear I will get you no matter what… and that child in your womb as well. Everyone in this family belongs to me. Remember that."_

Setsuna lowered her gaze as she felt a pang in her heart. "Such level of possessiveness is definitely unhealthy, dear sister…" she whispered, feeling rather poignant.

_And she carelessly passes that trait down to her child… poor Seijuurou. No wonder Seiji-san sounded so desperate when he called me…—_Setsuna sighed deeply.

Setsuna never thought that the problem from the past would become so huge. After all, she ended her relation with her old family fair and square, but apparently she had underestimated her sister's tenacity. To think that Kurenai was even capable of using her own children to get what she wanted….

A sound of a chiming bell from the maid café entrance, followed by the voices of the maids greeting "Welcome home, Master," brought Setsuna out of her musing. She looked upward as a tall man with reddish brown hair and dark brown eyes entered the shop.

Setsuna smiled slightly and raised her hand, waving at the man, which immediately caused him to notice her. He approached the redhead before saying, "I'm sorry for being late, Setsuna-san," he showed her a sheepish look before taking the seat across from her at the same round white table.

"No problem. I know you are busy, so it's fine, Seiji-san," Setsuna said, smiling fondly at the man called Akashi Seiji.

"As usual, you are very easy going," Seiji smiled back at her nostalgically and Setsuna giggled at that.

"Is that a compliment or sarcasm?" Setsuna grinned mischievously.

"Of course it's a compliment. I like that part about you most after all," Seiji said, laughing lightly as well.

They fell into comfortable silence for a brief moment before Setsuna decided to call for the maid so Seiji could order. The man coughed slightly, and awkwardly tried to order the least cute item on menu to Setsuna's amusement. She shook her head, taking a pity, and ordered a cup of black coffee for him.

"They sell black coffee here?" Seiji asked, looking surprised.

"This is a maid _café_. Of course they sell coffee here. Only the name is different," Setsuna rolled her eyes, giggling. Seiji's face reddened at her statement.

"You know I'm not good with these kinds of places," the man was almost pouting, but he was more embarrassed than annoyed.

"That's exactly why I chose this place to meet," Setsuna grinned cheekily.

"You are still a tease too, Setsuna-san," Seiji looked kind of nostalgic again as he continued, "If you didn't run off with that man, I wonder if you'd still be like this…"

"…married to you, you mean?" Setsuna closed her eyes, imagining how it would be like if she really went through with the marriage that was planned for her by her father. Seiji was originally her fiancé before she fell in love with Taira and decided to elope with him.

At first, Setsuna thought Seiji would hold a grudge because she left him for Taira, but she was wrong. Both Seji and Setsuna were like brother and sister since they grew up together as childhood friends. There was no romantic feeling between them _at all _because their engagement was for political purposes, courtesy of their respective parents.

Setsuna later knew that Seiji was actually glad when she ran away to be with her beloved one because Seiji had fallen in love with her sister instead of her.

Then, three years ago, Seiji was the one who warned Setsuna about Kurenai finding her whereabouts, and suggested that she send Kagami back to Japan before she and Taira dealt with the Akashi's Family's disturbance. He even inconspicuously made Kagami keep a low profile during his middle school days in Japan after he transferred back, knowing his son, Seijuurou, also had eyes in basketball world. He made sure Kagami's school wasn't well known for its basketball team so they wouldn't cross paths.

Though, Seiji didn't seem to think that Kagami entering Seirin would be such a huge deal since Seirin was a brand new high school. It could be because Seiji didn't know that the Seirin basketball team was a black horse that could go to Championship Game despite the members being still all freshmen, and certainly didn't expect that Kagami entering that school a year later would bring the Seirin team to battle against the Generation of Miracles, including Akashi.

Well, there was a limit to how a person could do something about it. Setsuna was already very grateful for his help up until now. Seiji was really a great person after all. If she wasn't so in love with Taira, she didn't mind marrying Seiji.

Seiji snorted at her comment. "We, married?" he actually laughed while shaking his head nonsensically. "That would be very interesting, though. We would be arguing all the time that we wouldn't even have a lovey-dovey moment," he was still chuckling afterwards.

"Exactly," Setsuna couldn't help laughing again, following suit.

After feeling quite satisfied with their –what if- speculation and, _of course_, their laughing at funny moments in the past, they went back to the relatively quiet, contented atmosphere. The maid brought Seiji his black coffee a few minutes later, and he added a cube of sugar before starting to stir the hot beverage.

"So… what do you want to discuss with me, Seiji-san?" Setsuna started the real conversation, the actual purpose of their meeting that day.

Seiji was still silent, stirring the coffee until all the sugar melted and mixed with the coffee. He stopped and put down the spoon before looking upward at Setsuna's face, setting a serious expression. "It's about Seijuurou…" he said slowly, almost sounding worried.

Setsuna huffed ruefully. "Did Kurenai do something to him?" she asked.

Seiji nodded. "I'm afraid so, but it's more… about Seijuurou rather than about her," he let out a long suffering sigh.

"I can guess that much. I met the GoM members that became my son's acquaintances. I can see why Seijuurou wants them to be his. Knowing Kurenai and her traits, I can almost see her in your son's personality as well," Setsuna commented slowly, rather resigned. "But… he's rather different from her. That much I realized."

"Yes, but he doesn't seem to understand his own feelings and emotions," Seiji gazed down at the table, looking slightly dejected. "I was at the wrong too for letting Kurenai have too much influence in raising Seijuurou. I feel even more responsible because _his brother_ even adopted Kurenai's exact personality as his own."

"So, what do you want me to do?" Setsuna asked.

Seiji looked slightly hesitant before voicing his request, "Could you… bring Seijuurou away from the Akashi Family for awhile? At least until I can convince Kurenai to let him live his own life without her interfering with it every single time."

Setsuna was surprised at his request. "Are you sure? Won't you need your son's consent first? It will be a kidnapping if I just take him away against his will," she raised her eyebrows at him wonderingly. What was Seiji thinking?

"Uh… I got a vibe that Seijuurou wants to leave. He just doesn't think he can without endangering his friends… somehow, I think Kurenai uses them as a leverage to bind Seijuurou to her," Seiji sighed again, looking rather depressed. "Why does she think she has to do that to keep Seijuurou close? He's her own child," he mumbled weakly, looking slightly annoyed as well.

Setsuna got a feeling that it was actually her fault. Well, she did leave Kurenai to take over the Akashi Family's '_back face_'. She must have held quite an enormous grudge towards her. Her distrust towards a family member could be because of that too. Kurenai thought she had to get a hold of _at least_ one weakness of her own family members', just to make sure they wouldn't betray her.

Setsuna wouldn't tell Seiji all of that, though. After all, she was quite sure that Kurenai loved Seiji as he was to some degrees. Or else, she wouldn't even think about marrying him _at all, _even though it was for the Akashi Family.

"Okay then, if you are sure," Setsuna accepted the request. "Though… I may have to ask my son's help for that. Children should be dealing with children. We, the adults will deal with the adults using our own way while silently protecting them. It's our main job as parents, right?" She winked confidently at Seiji.

Seiji was stunned for a moment before he huffed out a small laugh. "Taira taught you that, huh?" He seemed to be very amused now.

Setsuna just widened her grin, completely showing a positive reaction and answer to that clarifying remark.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"Bring it on," Akashi dared and Kagami turned very serious at his claim.

"Do you know that your mother has a sister?" Kagami asked. Akashi shook his head in a negative response. "As I thought, my mother was already crossed out from the list of Akashi Family members. Well, she did run away from home to elope, so it wouldn't be strange to treat her as a disgrace, especially for a family like the Akashi Group's caliber. I heard from my mother that she used to be a successor, but because she fell in love with my dad, she decided to leave everything behind so they could be together despite the Akashi's Family disapproval," he continued.

Akashi snorted slightly at this. "An Akashi… eloping? What a joke. No one from the Akashi Family would do something as scandalous as that," he said, distrust clearly displayed in his cold expression, his dichromatic eyes narrowing in disgust.

"Well, believe it or not, my mother did," Kagami shrugged. "She's like… what do you call it? The 'odd one' in the family?"

"Nonsense. It's simply because your mother didn't belong in the Akashi Family from the start. I never heard of such a person existing in _my_ family," Akashi sneered, downright underestimating that it irked Kagami slightly, but he held his temper in check in favor of convincing the smaller teen.

"Then, why don't you try to ask your parents?" Kagami dared, narrowing his crimson eyes as well. "Or check your family tree or something. You will find a crossed out name there. _Akashi Setsuna_ is my mother's name. It will prove enough that we are cousins," he continued, looking deeply into Akashi's unreadable eyes meaningfully.

Akashi frowned deeply at his point. He didn't look shaken, but the surprise and displeasure were quite clear in his expression as Kagami actually challenged Akashi to prove the truth of the story.

"So?" Akashi finally said, for some reasons appearing slightly indifferent. He seemed to be unable to comprehend why Kagami was telling him this.

Kagami sighed, "Don't you get it? Even _in the Akashi Family_, there's someone like my mother," he said, stressing the 'Akashi Family' words. He hoped Akashi caught up. He couldn't spell it one by one that he might have an idea why Akashi did what he did, but like Kuroko said before, Akashi might have no idea about it at all because he didn't realize it.

Because of the way Akashi was brought up in the family, there would be no meaning if Akashi didn't realize it himself.

"That's why, what about it? Let's say that it was true, which it clearly _isn't_, it will only prove our relation. That doesn't change the fact that _you_ endanger my family," he said gravely, precariously, and Kagami had to heave out a long sigh at his response.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Kagami looked at Akashi, slightly sympathetic.

Akashi seemed to notice Kagami's look and hissed at him angrily. "I dare you to look at me with those eyes longer, Kagami Taiga. I'll make sure your body will never be found again."

There again, Akashi's pride and temper got the better of him. It was just like how Setsuna told Kagami and all the other GoM members that Akashi Seijuurou was… a _prisoner_.

"_The Akashi Family has two faces: 'white', the front face, a powerful corporate group involved in giant business industry, and 'black', the back face, a politically powerful family that controls the underworld business. Akashi Seiji, the father, deals with the front face, while Akashi Kurenai, the mother, deals with the back one. They don't always work together or eye to eye, but their existence is absolute in the eye of the world for complementing each other. Not many ordinary people know about the back face of the Akashi Family, but everyone in underworld business knows them. Messing with them equals to a death penalty. That's why they shut their mouths whenever people ask around about them._

"_Of course, such a big family always has principles and doctrines to guarantee their success and safety. The Akashi Family's doctrine is a very powerful one-sided weapon. It makes all the members of the family lose their sight in their actual 'feelings'. Akashi Seijuurou was raised with those doctrines of absolute victory, absolute truth, an absolute white and black world, and an absolute rational thought which disregards human's feeling. They are taught to always have plans, to move ten steps ahead their opponents and even their comrades, to make sure they always get what they want and need. However, it costs them greatly in the matter of their 'hearts' because they don't always have time to deal with what they 'feel' when they run those schemes, to make sure everything goes according to plans smoothly, to absolutely gain their objective._

"_Kurenai also taught her children this way, including Seijuurou. He must have been pressured his whole life to live up her expectations. Even though he found something that he can actually 'feel' or 'like', he must have been so busy planning to keep it together, to make sure that it's safe and in order that he doesn't realize he's disregarding the feelings of the 'people' involved in it, especially when his family sees that 'something' as a distraction from his main 'duty' as an heir._

"_Akashi Seijuurou isn't taught how to 'love' that something, but to absolutely 'possess' it, to make sure that it's protected from any harm, including the 'personal feelings' of the people involved in that something._

"_That boy doesn't know how to show affection normally, especially to people. 'You guys', are something that is precious to him, unbelievably very much, so much that he's even willing to hurt himself just to make sure that you'll stay. But I can assure you, he did what he did because he tried to protect you from the Akashi Family that sees you as a 'distraction' for him. He might act that he planned everything until the smallest detail, he might even convince himself that he actually did, but despite being exceptionally clever, he is just a boy, trying desperately to 'preserve' what he thought was his, from being taken away from him."_

"You… you just don't realize it, but you are actually scared, aren't you, Akashi?" Kagami asked, still looking at Akashi compassionately. Akashi, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to kill him.

The shorter teen approached Kagami in a fast movement, still glaring at him so hard and deadly that Kagami could almost see his pupils slit even thinner and sharper than usual.

Kagami was sure the smaller redhead even held a pair of scissors in his hand (despite not yet seeing it since the sleeve of his _yukata_ was quite long) and that Akashi would stab Kagami with it, but Kagami didn't intend to dodge or back down.

Kagami even let Akashi attack him with that strange ability to make people bigger than him fall down on their butt. Not even flinching when Akashi grabbed his collar, slammed him down on the ground and then made a stabbing motion with his scissors. The edges were a half centimeter away from his cheek when it suddenly sank on the ground beside his head.

Akashi looked down at Kagami with widened eyes, clearly surprised when Kagami didn't blink and only stared back at him bravely under his lethal gaze. Akashi seemed to realize that Kagami didn't even want to dodge his attack, from the lack of muscle movement or micro-gestures observed through his Emperor Eye. He gritted his teeth afterwards, once again narrowing his eyes accusingly.

"What in the world are you planning, Kagami Taiga?" Akashi hissed again, tightening his hold on Kagami's collar. "Spouting such bullshit to me… are you trying to infuriate me?" he growled, looking very furious.

"I do want to rile you up," Kagami admitted, his gaze never straying from Akashi's mismatched eyes at all. "Don't you see it? You can lose control once in awhile too. You don't have to be perfect all the time. There's a reason why those guys stick close to you even after you parted ways. They respect you, and _more,_ despite your tyranny. Don't you understand how they feel about you? How _you_ feel about them?"

"SHUT UP!" Akashi shouted now. He actually raised his voice and his expression was slightly distraught at this point. "You bring nothing but trouble…! Ever since you became Tetsuya's light, everything seems to go down the wrong way. Right, you even tried to pull Ryouta, Shintarou and Daiki away from my grasp. Such insolence…! How dare you lay your fingers on what's mine. Even Atsushi started to act strange after you guys defeated him…. You are the root of all those problems. I won't let you do as you please. The Generation of Miracles is mine. Don't think you can distract me with such a ridiculous story about us being related to try to snatch them away from me. Know your damn place, you good for nothing! In the end, they will choose me over you… you and your team…!"

Akashi looked very volatile at that moment, seriously terrifying when he glared with such intensity and ferocity. If looks could kill, Kagami would be dead ten times by now for getting stabbed by those knife-like mismatched glare repeatedly.

Moreover, Akashi's first shout already alerted the guards and they immediately came running towards their direction. _SHIT!_—Kagami thought in panic, gasping when he was freed from Akashi's killer eyes.

"Get him out of my face," Akashi ordered the guards after he got off of Kagami's body, already looking calm again. In record time, Kagami was kicked out of the Akashi Family main house.

Luckily, Kagami wasn't beaten to a pulp, which was miraculous by the way. He was actually ready if it turned to the worst and he had to fight. He was quite confident that he could take them (yakuza or not), but he didn't want to risk hurting himself, which could end his basketball career on the spot.

Well, at least Kagami's mission in riling Akashi up was done. Although Akashi seemed unable to accept the fact (and totally blamed Kagami for it), the seed of doubt was definitely planted in his consciousness. He would be asking himself about it. He would be thinking about it and Kagami was sure it wasn't hard for the smaller red haired genius to realize it.

_Yes, even Akashi Seijuurou can be freed… from the Akashi Family doctrine._

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"Ah, welcome back, Sei-nii," Soujirou greeted Akashi when he entered the house again, still fuming and infuriated at his previous conversation with Kagami Taiga.

_How dare he! Trying to claim himself as one of the Akashi's…! There's no way such a person existed in the Akashi Family! Our perfect family…!_—Akashi bit his lower lip slightly.

"_Her name is Akashi Setsuna."_

"Sei-nii?"

"SHUT UP! I am thinking!" Akashi snapped at his little brother, who blinked at him in surprise. Akashi slapped his mouth shut immediately at his temporary loss of control.

…

…

"Sei-nii…?" Soujirou widened his eyes in disbelief as Akashi gritted his teeth again.

"I'm tired," Akashi said more composedly now. "I will return to my room. Tell mother I won't be joining dinner," he said, before resuming his walk down the corridor to his room.

Unknown to him, Soujirou was still looking at his retreating back. His expression was slowly turning to the coldest expression that even rivaled Akashi's when he was pissed.

"You are breaking… Seijuurou-niisama," Soujirou whispered. "Such a miserable look… it's the Eye's fault…" he muttered lowly, lowering his gaze before smirking. "You're failing… as an Akashi…."

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

A few hours after the confrontation between Kagami and Akashi…

"So… why are you guys here again?" Kagami twitched as he was suddenly faced with all the GoM members (except Akashi), their respective boyfriends: Takao and Himuro, plus Mibuchi Reo, Hayama Kotarou and Nebuya Eikichi who seemed to have just arrived from Kyoto, in front of his apartment.

"Kagamin!" Momoi waved at the redhead with a sheepish smile on her face.

"What are they doing here?" Kagami asked loudly while pointing at the Rakuzan basketball team's starting members in protest. It was bad enough that he had to house the entire GoM and their partners whenever they were in Tokyo, but adding another team in the mix, moreover, the team that belonged to _Akashi Seijuurou_, was definitely crossing the line in Kagami's standard, seriously.

"We are here to pick up Sei-chan," Mibuchi said, huffing and frowning slightly at the way Kagami pointed at them so rudely.

"Sei-chan?" Kagami looked at the black haired guy whose body built, face, and air looked similar to Himuro's, ridiculously. Who the hell was Sei-chan?

"He's talking about Akashi," Hayama, the light-brown haired one, supplied helpfully.

Kagami scrunched up his face, totally disturbed. Akashi Seijuurou actually allowed someone else to call him Sei-chan? Was the world at the brink of an apocalypse and he was the only one who didn't know?

"There's an absurd rumor about Akashi transferring back to Tokyo. We just want to straighten it up by asking him directly," Nebuya, the tan muscular boy, said gruffly, grimacing.

"It's not just a rumor. Your coach said he got the withdrawal notice from Akashi-kun via email," Momoi said.

"That can't be true! Why did he suddenly decide to transfer?!" Mibuchi held his head, looking almost panicking.

"That's right! Akashi wouldn't abandon us just like that without explanation!" Hayama exclaimed loudly, not sure if he was complaining or just trying to reassure himself.

"You guys… the GoM members must have known something about this! What happened to him here?" Nebuya demanded at the five other males in front of them, who could only stare at them with equally bothered expression.

"Akashi is transferring… that's news to me too," Midorima tried to act cool by fixing his glasses' position. Moreover, it was possible that he didn't know a damn thing about that as well. After all, there were only Kagami and Aomine present when Momoi broke the news.

"What the hell does that mean?" Takao looked perplexed beside the green haired teen, clearly very surprised as well. He turned to Himuro and the dark haired male shook his head, having no clue as well.

Murasakibara bit at his snack a little too hard, telling everyone that he was also slightly on edge despite the bored look he showed. Kuroko looked at Kagami with his dull, curious eyes.

"Kagami-kun… you know about this," Kuroko concluded a few minutes later as Kagami just sighed in exasperation. Aomine looked another way and Kise stared at the dark skinned ace with widened shocked eyes.

"Aomine-chi, you know about it as well!" the blond exclaimed, sounding rather accusing as he pointed and looked at him in disbelief.

Aomine made a protesting noise at that. "Satsuki broke the news when I played one on one with Kagami," he said defensively.

"And you didn't have any decency to inform us at all?" Midorima glared at Aomine and Kagami as if they had committed a horrible crime under his nose.

"Hey! That wasn't my intention! Kagami said he wanted to at least talk to Akashi first before telling you guys!" Aomine complained again for being blamed.

Takao and Himuro visibly gasped at that. "Kagami! You went to talk to Akashi _alone_?" the Shuutoku point guard asked, gawking at Kagami in shock and disbelief.

"Why didn't you wait for us first? I thought _we_ would have that conversation with Akashi Seijuurou together," Himuro scolded Kagami as well, frowning at him with worried look.

"Well, what I wanted to tell Akashi in _this_ conversation is different from what we wanted to tell him regarding our respective partners," Kagami said, scratching his cheek with his index finger slightly, feeling rather bad for not telling everyone first about it. "I meant, with the latest development… I couldn't help feeling that his transfer had something to do with his family's doing… and Mom even said she needed my help to drive some sense into Akashi because _he_ is the one who must have the desire to be free," he continued.

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on a second! What the hell are you guys talking about?" Nebuya suddenly interrupted, looking very confused.

"About Akashi transferring to Tokyo," Kagami faced the tall bulky boy now, looking at him and his comrades concernedly. "There's a possibility… no, I'm sure it isn't his wish. Akashi's family has done something, somehow, and Akashi has a sense of duty to fulfill his family's wishes, _orders_. He doesn't realize that he can _object_ if he doesn't want to, but apparently, his family seemed to have gotten a hold on his 'weakness'," he continued explaining.

The GoM flinched slightly at that, completely aware that the 'weakness' Kagami was talking about was actually the GoM themselves. Before the redhead could go on, Kuroko opened his mouth to speak, "So you went there to tell him that he doesn't need to worry about us," he asked in an even tone.

Kagami glanced at Kuroko, slightly apologetic. "I didn't specifically say that. I just told him about my mother, that there _was_ someone like her in the Akashi Family," he looked down. "I wanted to just tell him without being so cryptic, but unless he realizes it himself, there's no meaning to it. Because of the way he was raised, he won't accept whatever we say unless he thinks and finds it in himself that he _can_ be whatever he wants to be," he continued slowly.

Kuroko moved closer, looking upward at Kagami, who felt rather disheartened for not being able to fully help, with a tinge of sadness in his sky blue eyes. He reached for Kagami's arm and noticed that his jacket was a bit torn and dirty. "You're hurt…" he said, a hint of worry in his quiet voice.

Kagami looked at his state of clothes and blinked. "No, well… there was struggle, since the guards in his house are ridiculously strong," he said, giving Kuroko a small reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I managed to talk to him."

"But still… charging alone in a Yakuza HQ was very reckless of you," Kuroko said, tentatively touching his arm, a displeased frown adorning his usually emotionless face. Kuroko must have been very worried if he even showed it in his expression.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Now Hayama widened his eyes as he heard their conversation.

"Yakuza?!" Mibuchi looked like fish out of water as he reacted to the news as well.

The others nodded. "The Akashi Family… or Akashi Group, is a very big family which has two faces. A very rich successful business corporate family at the front and a politically powerful yakuza family at the back," Momoi informed the three Rakuzan boys. "We also had just learned about it recently. But apparently, Akashi-kun's admission to Rakuzan was his way to release himself from his family's hold, although…" she looked down sadly afterwards, looking somehow regretful.

"Is it our fault?" Murasakibara suddenly asked, alerting the others of his presence since it was the first time he said something after Kagami showed up earlier. "Is Aka-chin unhappy because of us?" the purple haired boy actually put down his snack as he said this, his expression looking rather helpless as well.

A pang of guilt seemed to strike the other GoM as they winced in reaction to the question, but Himuro's reassuring words while holding Murasakibara's hand a moment later seemed to lessen the ache, somehow.

"It's not your fault at all. You guys trust and love him, but he just doesn't realize it yet. But _we_ will make him realize it."

Kagami smiled at Himuro and the others looked relieved as they heard his words. Takao added soon after, "We just have to make him realize that we will protect our respective partners with our lives, so he doesn't have to 'sacrifice' his freedom for it!" He grasped Midorima's arm tightly with a confident smile on his face.

"Yeah!" Kagami held Kuroko's shoulder closer to his body and grinned widely, feeling his spirit lifted along with his confidence.

Kagami, Takao, and Himuro looked at one another, nodding surely before they looked at their respective partners with promise. Aomine, Kise and Momoi also looked at each other and smiled positively afterwards.

Mibuchi, Hayama and Nebuya still looked slightly confused, but at least they knew that Akashi didn't purposely try to leave the Rakuzan basketball team. There was a situation, and they wanted to help anyway they could to get Akashi back, even though they had to deal with Yakuza for that matter.

"So, what should we do to get Sei-chan back?" Mibuchi asked a few minutes later.

"We wait," Kagami answered. "I already planted a seed of doubt. Akashi is smart. He will catch on fast enough. When that time comes, we'll be there to catch him."

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"Mother, do you have a sister?" Akashi asked one morning when the Akashi Family had breakfast together.

"Ah, are you talking about Setsuna-san, Seijuurou?"

Before Kurenai had a chance to react to Akashi's sudden question, Seiji asked back with a nostalgic grin on his face.

Akashi was surprised that his father was the one recognizing who he was talking about. He looked upward at Seiji with raised eyebrows. "Father knew." He concluded after seeing the easy smile in Seiji's face.

"Yes, Setsuna-san is your mother's sister, my _former_ fiancée," Seiji nodded, he didn't seem to be uncomfortable talking about a woman whose name had already been crossed out from the list of family members in the Akashi Family.

_Moreover, a former fiancée?_—Akashi couldn't help frowning slightly.

"Our parents arranged our marriage, but I fell in love with your mother instead of her," Seiji grinned, looking somehow melancholy as he began to reminiscence about the past.

Kurenai coughed slightly, "_Anata_ (1)," she called her husband while narrowing her eye at him, her face colored slightly.

Akashi blinked and stared at his mother, the leader of the GoM would be almost gaping if he wasn't able to control his expression better. Did Kurenai just blush? His mother? _Blushing?_

"Ah," Seiji seemed to realize that he somehow had embarrassed his wife in front of their son. "My bad, I just felt that Seijuurou deserved to know about his aunt. Did I offend you, honey?"

Kurenai hid her lower face with her red furry fan, her eye still narrowed at Seiji, but she just coughed once and said, "Talking about a woman who abandoned her family to be with a low-life at breakfast time is offensive." She tilted her chin up regally after her statement.

A bead of sweat rolled down Seiji's face even though he was still smiling. "You are just still mad at her for choosing Taira over you," he mumbled quietly, but she didn't seem to hear that.

Or, Kurenai just ignored the offhand comment, but Seijuurou heard it just fine. _What does that even mean?_—he wanted to ask.

But then again, there really was a woman named Setsuna in the Akashi Family. A woman who _got away_ from the Family and succeeded to live freely with her beloved one… and even made a new family…

_Kagami Taiga's mother._

Akashi suddenly remembered that he saw a woman with long red hair, with a face very similar to his own mother's, but she wore modern and stylish clothes. The day when he was picked up by his family…

_Was she Setsuna-san?_

"Why did you suddenly ask about it, Seijuurou-san?"

Akashi snapped back from his train of thought at the sudden question thrown by his mother. He blinked once before shifting his gaze at Kurenai. She was looking at him with a hint of curiosity in her visible golden eye.

"Ah, I was just curious. For a long time, the main members of the Akashi Family were just father, mother, and me after grandfather passed away. I just want to know if there are others… Who knows? Maybe someone like Soujirou, who came out of nowhere so suddenly, is hidden as well," Akashi shrugged slightly, looking down at his bowl of rice.

Seiji flinched slightly at that. "Soujirou didn't come out of nowhere, Seijuurou. Your mother gave birth to him," Seiji said, smiling ruefully.

"I never knew his existence before I graduated from elementary school. Until now I still don't get why he wasn't raised in the main house together with me," Akashi said again, averting his gaze slightly before looking back at his father and mother again. "I still don't recognize him as a family member," he said seriously.

"Well, his body was quite weak when he was a child, Seijuurou-san. He had to be raised in a specific controlled environment until he could live normally as a boy," Kurenai said, smiling slightly. "Too bad he doesn't have the same qualities as you, and because of that, he has to be treated differently as well."

Seiji looked at Kurenai with a frown on his face. "Don't talk about our children like they are goods, Kurenai," he said, a tint of disproval in his tone.

"Oh, yes, pardon me. That merely slipped out. I just meant that Soujirou needed special education, that's all," Kurenai said, while smiling at her husband gently.

_A damaged good. That's what Soujirou is for mother,—_Akashi looked another way. _But it doesn't change the fact that he exists. He's dangerous because he's starving for attention…. His ambition… his desire… he isn't rational enough to deal with logically. Mother let a brainless monster loose in this house. _

_But then again, why do I feel this way to that damaged good? He isn't my brother. I don't acknowledge him as one, and yet… while I know he isn't qualified to be the Akashi's successor… why can't he be the one instead of me?_

Akashi closed his eyes.

"_Even in the Akashi Family, there's someone like my mother."_

Kagami's words rang stridently inside his head. Akashi frowned again. Why did he keep thinking about that? What was this unpleasant feeling squirming in his chest? He wasn't supposed to feel this way. There was something wrong with him.

"_You are actually scared, aren't you?"_

Ridiculous. Akashi Seijuurou didn't fear anything. He possessed the GoM as his belonging and he took care of what was his. He wouldn't let anyone steal them from him. Not even those new partners, not even his family. He just had to plan everything correctly, and he would set this right.

_A little sacrifice is nothing to get the big fish._

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Furihata was feeling rather insecure.

Well, of course he would feel odd if he met all the GoM members one by one when he was out in town after the winter break just started. First, he ran into Murasakibara Atsushi, the tallest Yousen center, at department store when he was helping his mother shop.

Furihata couldn't help staring ludicrously at the amount of sweets and snacks Murasakibara put in the shopping cart. Himuro Tatsuya, his partner, looked at the purple haired boy with exasperation in his expression, but he let the tall guy buy them all as long as he used his own money.

"Taiga will kill _you_ if we spend all his money to buy your snacks. He needs real food," Himuro said, sighing as he took another shopping bag to fill with vegetables and meats. "He will cook, so you can expect a delicious lunch and dinner," he continued with a smile.

Murasakibara just shrugged and put more snacks in the cart.

_Why are Yousen players here in Tokyo when they are supposed to be in Akita?_—Furihata couldn't help wondering, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek as he stared at the two taller guys peculiarly.

Himuro seemed to notice that someone was staring at them as he turned his face and accidentally met Furihata's eyes.

_Ah, crap!_—Furihata averted his gaze immediately while inconspicuously trying to glance at them once in awhile. Himuro smiled at him and Furihata was embarrassed that he was found out.

It seemed that Himuro recognized Furihata. He was approaching him now and Furihata panicked slightly.

"You are from the Seirin basketball team, right? Taiga's teammate," Himuro greeted.

"Eh, err… ye-yes," Furihata laughed sheepishly. "Sorry to intrude," he bowed slightly and politely, trying hard not to offend the taller, dark haired guy, even though he was caught staring.

Himuro smiled amusedly at Furihata. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't intrude at all." He seemed to be rather puzzled.

"Eh, well… I just couldn't help staring because it's rare to see you… I meant, Yousen's players, in Tokyo, you know," Furihata scratched his head. "Ah, I'm Furihata Kouki, by the way," he introduced himself after remembering that he hadn't done so before.

"Good to know you, Furihata-kun, I'm Himuro Tatsuya, and you must know that big baby over there," Himuro thumbed at Murasakibara behind him, who was calling his name with a bored look.

"Muro-chin~ come on~ let's pay these~. Wanna eat my snack soon~," the purple haired boy whined.

"Sheesh, he's such an impatient kid," Himuro sighed again.

"Ah, don't let me delay your activity, please," Furihata bowed again slightly, gesturing that Himuro should go to Murasakibara quickly.

"Alright then, see you around, Furihata-kun," Himuro bowed slightly at him in turn, before he went back to tend to Murasakibara.

"Eh? See me around? Then they will be here for awhile?" Furihata couldn't help asking himself that while sweating profoundly.

It didn't stop there, because when Furihata was out during the afternoon, he saw Aomine, Kise and Momoi at the park.

Kise had a modeling job, and it shouldn't be strange to see Aomine and Momoi in Tokyo because they lived there. However, the three hanging around together… or more like, Aomine seeming to be guarding Kise and Momoi while looking around, narrowing his eyes dangerously at everyone and everything that looked at their way for some reason, _was_.

It was honestly intimidating and Furihata yelped when Aomine's sharp gaze landed on him. The scary tanned guy then approached him suddenly and Furihata panicked again while pointing at himself, exclaiming "Eh? EH?"

"Oi! You over there!" Aomine shouted at him.

"Yes!" Furihata reacted involuntarily, standing straight while facing Aomine fearfully.

"I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you? Kise's stalker? Or is it Satsuki's?" Aomine glared down at him furiously.

"Eh? Wha—? Stalker—?!" Furihata didn't understand what was happening. His eyes spun as Aomine grabbed his collar roughly.

"Aomine-chi! Stop!" Kise shouted in horror at the forceful action and Momoi also yelled at him to stop before he could get violent.

"But I've seen him before!" Aomine protested angrily.

"Of course you've seen him before! He's on Kagami-chi and Kuroko-chi's team!" Kise slapped Aomine's back hard. "Jeez! Quit being so paranoid!" he scolded Aomine, huffing in annoyance.

"Eh, is that so?" Aomine turned to squint at the shivering Furihata who nodded frantically, speechless and almost crying in the tan ace's grasp. "Ah, my bad then…" he immediately released him, looking rather sheepish while Furihata immediately scrambled away, holding his chest in fright.

Furihata thought he was going to get beaten up. So scary!

"Are you okay?" Momoi asked Furihata with worried look after reprimanding Dai-chan to stop his 'punch first, ask later' habit.

"Y-yes… I think," Furihata gulped, trying to pace his fast shallow breathing while glancing tentatively at Aomine, who was speaking with Kise now, looking somehow bored while Kise was still whining at him to stop threatening everyone around them.

"I'm sorry about his behavior. He's kind of on edge these days since we are expecting… some kind of bad people to come after us," Momoi smiled ruefully at Furihata. "You are Furihata Kouki, right? Seirin High, Class 1-D, basketball club member, Tetsu-kun's friend!" she continued, looking somehow enthusiastic after she mentioned Kuroko's name.

"A-ah, yeah," Furihata smiled awkwardly at the very pretty and sexy pink haired girl in front of him. "Nice to see you too, Momoi Satsuki-san," he greeted Momoi politely.

"Oh, my! You know me, how nice!" Momoi grinned friendlily.

"Yes, I recognize Aomine Daiki-san and Kise Ryouta-san as well," Furihata said, feeling reasonably calmer now after Momoi talked to him so nicely. He was still rather wary of Aomine, but Kise seemed to be keeping him busy.

"Now, Aomine-chi, apologize properly!" Kise huffed again while pushing Aomine to Furihata's direction. Furihata yelped slightly as he was faced with Aomine once again.

"Hey, sorry about just now," Aomine actually apologized, though he looked rather reluctant.

"I-it's fine, Aomine-san," Furihata stuttered and fidgeted slightly. "Uh… it-it's nice to see all of you here, I mean… unless we have an official match or practice match, we don't see each other much, so…" he kind of rambled lamely.

Kise chuckled slightly at him. "Well, we don't actually know each other personally after all," he said with a bright shining smile on his face.

"Ah, that's true. Then, I was just passing by, so… I'll just go away so as not to be in your way," Furihata said before bowing and leaving.

"Yeah, see you around, Furihata-kun!" Momoi waved at him and Furihata waved back at their party while smiling nervously before getting the hell away from there.

_Sheesh, can today get even weirder?_—Furihata thought as he decided to go straight home, lest more strange events decided to destroy the start of his winter vacation.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Akashi looked at the family tree to make sure that Setsuna's name was there. Then he proceeded to ask a few people, _older members_ of the Akashi Group for some information regarding her as well.

"_It's too bad that Setsuna-ojousama decided to go away, though in our world it's quite common. Well, it's very strange for an Akashi, though."_ An old man who worked as the Akashi Group informant said while puffing out his smoke, _"She was very clever and pretty, too. If only that man didn't seduce her…!"_ he growled, seeming to remember something disconcerting.

"_Setsuna-neesan? I know her. Awesome woman. She could have been a very incredible leader too if only she had stayed. Well, she chose her own happiness over the family. I guess she was just a woman after all." _

"_She ran away from her fate! Such a person didn't belong in the Akashi Group!"_

"_But pulling out that kind of stunt was a very brave move. She was lucky that she attended home-schooling instead of going to school normally. Or else when she ran away, we would have torn apart her school, friends, and teachers trying to look for her."_

"_She must have some kind of help from the outside though, or else she wouldn't have been able to do it so smoothly. I think Kurenai-sama somehow helped her escape at some points, but she clearly pledged that she would get her back someday."_

Akashi slammed his knight on his King with such force that the chess board trembled slightly, all the chess pieces rattling before collapsing. He stared thoughtfully at the knight that was still standing.

_Help from the outside…—_Akashi contemplated it carefully.

"_Don't you understand how they feel about you?"_

Akashi gritted his teeth. That didn't matter at all. He didn't care about what they felt. They only needed to obey him and that was good enough.

_They are mine…_—Akashi let go of the knight and repeated those words over and over in his mind, like a chant.

_Mine._

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Furihata couldn't help thinking that the universe was playing a trick on his life. After all, the weirdness that happened during the first day of the winter break repeated the next day, and even the following days.

Furihata kept bumping into strange people. Midorima Shintarou and Takao Kazunari were first. When he got out of the arcade, he saw the two entering the toy store that opened just across the arcade.

They were arguing about something. Apparently, Midorima was insisting that Takao wear a strange-looking bracelet he had just purchased or something, saying that it was his lucky item for the day and they needed it just to make sure that they were safe.

"Shin-chan, this looks hideous!" Takao protested.

"Shut it. It's necessary," Midorima ignored all his complaints afterwards as he turned around and seemed to notice Furihata staring at them. He narrowed his eyes at him and Furihata only chuckled nervously while bowing before moving away, not wanting to deal with them at all.

Afterwards, he saw some Rakuzan guys in town as well, debating in front of a building about taking self defense lessons if they were about to try to get Sei-chan back, or something along that line.

Furihata didn't bother to stick around to know more since he had to meet Sasaki-chan after this. She finally agreed to go on a date with him. Though, in reality she probably just needed some muscles to help her bring the shopping bags.

_Well, a date is still a date even if it's like that._

However, Furihata didn't realize yet that this outing was going to be _the last date_ he would ever have with Sasaki-chan….

**End of Part 7**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**Additional Notes:**

_**1)Anata:**_ the most formal way to call 'you', but in this 'husband and wife' context, it has equal meaning with 'dear', 'darling', 'honey' or so.

**A/N: **Hmm… this chapter is supposed to reveal the climax, but I guess I can put that in the _possibly_ last chapter… or not. Aka/Furi portion is lacking. I will have to add one more chapter to make sure this fic has plenty of them together *lol* Anyway, what do you think? I hope it's not too lame or too confusing, about the things Akashi have to realize (sorry for making him rather clueless here, despite being genius *ugh*). Now, I will be waiting for your feedback *bows*


	8. Part 8

**Disclaimer: The usual. Not and never will be mine.**

**Warning: **_AU, shounen ai/yaoi, off-screen violence, drugs misuse, language, oOC, etc…_

**A/N: **Kaaah! Finally this chapter! XD I only want to say that I'm so excited about this chapter and I hope all of you are too! My beta was and I'm so glad she is still! XD Thanks for your help as always, _**tora-chan83**_! YES! Finally an AkaFuri moment is here! XDDD

Ahem, sorry for fan-girling right at the top. Thank you sooo much for your every review, fave and alert! I reaaally appreciate them! Now, ENJOY!

* * *

**Signal**

_**Part 8**_

* * *

Akashi Seijuurou was running.

Running?

_Indeed…—_Akashi wanted to scoff and laugh at himself for being so pathetic.

Running away. An Akashi was running away. What a joke.

_I let my guard down._

A very stupid move, which wasn't like Akashi at all to make a mistake like this….

A mistake that even an _Akashi_ couldn't fix….

"_What is this?" Akashi asked the servant when he saw a bottle of eye drops on the tray of his afternoon snack._

"_It is from Kurenai-sama, Seijuurou-sama. She said it was good a way to ease the eyes when they are tired from intense focus," the boy said, smiling politely. "She really recommends using it daily," he continued._

"_I see. Tell mother I said thank you," Akashi said, nodding slightly before the boy bowed respectfully and retreated from his side. Akashi didn't think much about it because it was so like Kurenai to urge him to preserve his eyes, as if he didn't know how to do that._

_Well, 'the Eye' was formerly Kurenai's, so Akashi understood her concern, but she should really start to treat him more like a man instead of a child, seriously._

_Akashi went back to his Shogi playing. He was still thinking intensely about what Kagami had told him some days before. Somehow, even though Akashi hated to admit it, Kagami's words got on his nerves more than it should. It kept him speculating and thinking, and before Akashi knew it, he was already plotting some incredulous plans along with it._

"_This is ridiculous," Akashi couldn't help mumbling while frowning, for a moment getting stuck in a move for the Shogi piece in his hand. Did Akashi actually consider the words of a buffoon like Kagami Taiga? He had to get a grip on himself._

_Akashi sighed, putting down the piece before massaging his temples. He hadn't been able to sleep well for the past few nights because of the crazy thoughts he kept having concerning Kagami's words. It was definitely his fault that Akashi couldn't rest peacefully these days._

_His eyes felt tired._

_Akashi glanced at the eye drops and once again sighed before taking it and looking at the bottle, contemplating the idea of using it to ease his tense eyes. He didn't usually use this kind of thing, but if his mother recommended it, it was possible that she used it as well._

_Akashi opened the cap and dripped some of the liquid onto both of his eyes before closing it again while shutting his eyes to let the liquid do its work. He put the bottle back in its place and then took the cup of tea, relishing in the calming green tea scent before helping himself to a sip. _

_Akashi enjoyed drinking good tea and it was very soothing for his weary soul._

_Well, the calming effect didn't last for long though… because suddenly, his eyes began to see something very bright when he opened them._

"_Hmm? Ouch, what…?" Akashi couldn't help closing his eyes again. Suddenly, he felt very strange. "What… is this?" He tried to open his eyes again, but just like what happened before, the light attacked them. "Ow!" he immediately shut his eyes again painfully._

"_What the…? What is this…?!"_

_Akashi began to feel the panic rising when he couldn't open his eyes, since the light unexpectedly became too bright, blinding him completely. Getting trapped in the darkness was making him anxious. After all, his strength laid in his sight and therefore, his eyes, mainly his 'Emperor Eye'._

_Akashi heard the door of the room slide open and he jumped in surprise. Apparently, his other senses were slightly affected too, but he wasn't sure if it was because of his uneasy feeling or because of something else; something that 'blinded' him._

"_Ooh? It's already working?"_

_Akashi was surprised when Soujirou's voice was heard. He couldn't see him, _anything at all_,_ _but Soujirou's tone sounded amused. "Soujirou…!"_

_A chuckle was heard and it immediately clicked in Akashi's head. "You…! How dare you…! You did something to me, didn't you?" Akashi immediately accused, showing his rising anger through his displeased speech and expression as he couldn't exactly open his eyes to glare at the younger boy._

"_Oh no, you caught up? Damn," Soujirou snickered. He didn't sound sorry at all. "Well, the old you would have immediately caught up even before you actually fell for it. You let your guard down, huh…Seijuurou?"_

_A tick of irritation rose on Akashi's head. "What kind of language did you just use on me, Soujirou? Know your damn place!" he hissed._

_Another amused chuckle was heard in reaction to Akashi's words and Akashi really wanted to throw a pair of scissors at the younger, but without his sight, they would only miss their target and Akashi wouldn't do something that only wasted his energy._

"_Of course, I know perfectly well where I stand in the Akashi Family. After all, I was raised to be the one and only Akashi Soujirou, Akashi's Seijuurou's right hand man. I've been told so many times, everyday, throughout my entire childhood days that you will be 'everything' to me, Seijuurou." _

_A step closer, Akashi flinched slightly. What was that eerie feeling he felt with each step that Soujirou took towards him? Akashi's survival instinct flared instantly despite his sightless condition. He immediately stood up and jumped back, just in time for a stabbing sound landed on the pillow seat that he had just moved from._

"_Are? You can still move? Weird, I did put something in your drink as well though…aside from the eye drops," Soujirou said, sounding slightly surprised._

"_What did you say?" Akashi felt very indignant at this point. Did Soujirou drug his tea? The eye drops… he put something in the eye drops as well? No wonder his eyes got blinded._

_And Akashi had recklessly used it without testing! He even drank his tea without making the servant take it before him! Akashi usually could see something like this with his eyes! What was wrong with him?_

"_You…! How much lower can you go? You can't beat me fair and square as a rightful successor and now you decide to use dirty tricks to eliminate me?" Akashi knew he sounded cornered. Damn it. How shameful was it to be cornered by his own family… his younger brother?_

"_What are you saying? Didn't I just tell you that I was raised to be your right hand man?" Soujirou sounded confused. _

"_Then… why did you do this?" Akashi demanded an explanation while raking his brain to work harder and faster to get out of this mess._

"_Huh? You don't know? I have a say in deciding your rightful place, dear brother," Soujirou replied, once again sounding surprised before his tone turned amused at the end._

"_What…?" Akashi was slightly puzzled._

"_Oh ck, ck, ck… that's not good, Seijuurou, you've apparently turned a blind eye for too long on how 'this world' works," Soujirou clicked his tongue repeatedly and his voice changed into a disapproving tone. "Did you forget that the right hand man has a privilege to decide if a successor is deemed proper to be an heir?"_

_Akashi snapped in realization as an idea fleeted through his mind. "So, you think I'm not competent enough to be one?" he asked._

"_My, of course Seijuurou fits that role perfectly," Soujirou chuckled again. "The old Soujirou, that is. The one who was never distracted by everything, the one who didn't have any weakness… yes, the one before meeting the other GoM players," his tone turned very cold at the end, almost making Akashi wince, almost._

_Akashi never knew that Soujirou could be this 'insane'. Of course he knew that the boy was unstable, but putting drugs in Akashi's drink and eye drops was too much. The way Soujirou was raised was too different from Akashi. Even though they were supposed to be brothers, Soujirou wasn't taught about honor and fair play._

_Akashi Seijuurou hated Yakuza, but Soujirou was even worse than it._

"_Oniisama will always be my beloved 'boss', but the you at this moment is too far away from my beloved oniisama, Seijuurou. That's why I decided to take matters into my own hands," Soujirou spoke again, with dreamy sigh and a light joyful snigger afterwards._

"_What are you planning?" Akashi actually had a fair idea on what Soujirou would do, but thinking about it and actually hearing it was a different matter all together._

"_Complete restoration," Soujirou stepped forward again. Akashi could hear and feel it as his senses were totally on alert and he stepped back slightly._

_It was humiliating. For an Akashi to be forced to back down… despite his handicapped situation with his 'useless' eyes… it was still totally degrading._

"_You see… I will capture and eliminate all of your weaknesses, one by one… one by one… and I will let you see… no, 'hear' them when I do, since you won't be able to use your eyes for awhile to watch anyway," Soujirou snickered once more. "Then you will realize that there's nothing you can do about it because they are weaknesses that aren't necessary to be preserved by an Akashi… a successor such as yourself."_

"_Kh… You bastard…!" Akashi actually cussed. He, who was raised to be a gentle man… cussed! The world would end tomorrow. He was sure of it, but Akashi was mighty pissed off at this moment and didn't care. He was furious, totally enraged._

_How dare Soujirou shame Akashi to this level…threatening him to take away what was his! Akashi was completely livid at this point. _

"_Ooh! Even with your eyes closed, you can still look intimidating. As expected from Sei-nii!" _

_For a moment, Akashi thought that Soujirou was back to his senses, since the boy sounded exhilarated as he said that._

"_Still, as I thought, without 'The Eye', Seijuurou is 'nothing' at all, ne?"_

"_What—?!" Akashi was on the verge of raising his voice, but he was interrupted by the sound of fingers clicking._

_Instantly, some people rushed inside the room._

"_Ah, I forgot to tell you. At this moment, the main house is completely under my control since some of the 'loyal' servants of mine are keeping the other servants 'busy'. The guards are paid to keep silent and mother and father aren't home, so as long as I bring you out discreetly to 'my secret base', no one will look for you." _

"_What…?" Akashi… was completely in a pinch. To think that he would get attacked in his own home…! He let his guard down for a moment, and this happened._

_Seriously, what was wrong with him? Akashi knew his life was full of danger because of his family… and at some point, he might have predicted that Soujirou would do something stupid, but this was definitely beyond his expectations._

_Did Soujirou think he could get away with it if Kurenai or Seiji found out about this? Using 'drugs' was one of the things the Akashi Family DESPISED. Moreover, to drug their own family member… and a successor to boot!_

"_Stop it, Soujirou. Do you even know what you are doing?" Akashi asked, keeping his composure despite the 'rock running down the hill' situation. He couldn't let Soujirou…the Akashi Family fall because of this idiocy. _

_Akashi wasn't sure about the 'loyal servants' Soujirou was talking about, but if those 'loyal servants' were somehow a ploy from their 'rival families' to take down the Akashi Family from the inside, then Soujirou had completely fallen into their hands, damn it!_

"_What are you asking, Seijuurou? Of course I'm completely aware of what I'm doing. I just want my beloved 'Sei-niii' to come back to being his ruthless self," Soujirou replied with cheery tone._

"_You fool…!" Akashi gritted his teeth._

"_Take him down."_

By some miracle… or Akashi's natural talent in sensing the 'people' and 'spaces' around him, he was able to get out of the house albeit with some scratches. Avoiding those people was like trying to avoid hound dogs. A few bodily contacts later, Akashi realized that they were all big and huge. Luckily, Akashi knew his home like the back of his hand. Thanks to his outstanding _prior_ observations, he was able to slip around in narrow secret passages even without having to see them.

Luckily as well, the drug Soujirou had put in his drink didn't give any reaction until he was already outside. At this point, Akashi was running _barefoot _with his lungs burning, his body starting to feel sluggish, and he felt feverish to boot. Not to mention, it was in the middle of winter. Ugh.

_Damn… Damn…! Damn it all!_

Akashi didn't know since when his life started to go wrong. He was Akashi Seijuurou. He was always right and would always win in the end. But why…? Why did he feel this powerless at the moment? Was it because his eyes weren't with him?

Was Soujirou right? Was Akashi _nothing_ without his 'Emperor Eye'?

However another thought popped into his head and Akashi remembered the other GoM members. He hadn't yet acquired the 'Eye' when he met them for the first time. They acknowledged him as their leader by seeing his quality, not because he was some big shot successor of a certain successful family or because of his family's status or of anything else. They saw his _capability_ as leader and his _care _as a _human_.

A friend.

"_Akashi-kun."_

"_Akashi."_

"_Akashi-chi!"_

"_Akashi!"_

"_Aka-chin."_

They were different from everyone else. They were… the only ones….

"Please… help me…!"

Upon realizing what he just said, Akashi momentarily forgot that he couldn't open his eyes and the painful blinding light immediately assaulted them the moment he did. "Ugh!" Of course he automatically covered them with both hands, but his strength also gave out and he collapsed on the ground, panting, wheezing and groaning painfully.

"I found you."

Akashi went rigid at the eerie voice behind him. He didn't know where he was running, but apparently, Akashi hadn't run far away enough since Soujirou and his hooligan friends caught up with him that quickly.

Akashi felt like cussing again, but he didn't like having to degrade himself to that barbaric level. If he had to be captured, he would be captured with his dignity intact.

Nevertheless, Akashi wished he wouldn't be captured… because he was the last wall that stood between Soujirou (_plus his hooligan friends_—Akashi couldn't help repeating that in his mind) and his possession, his GoM… _no._

_No. They are… my friends._

"_Don't you understand how they feel about you? How _you_ feel about them?"_

_Now I understand what you wanted to say, Kagami Taiga… their feelings about me… and how I feel about them… my precious, precious friends…!_

"Huh… I dare you to capture me, foolish people," Akashi scoffed and started to stand up once again despite his body's condition.

"Ahaha! Trying to act tough, are we?" Soujirou snickered, but Akashi didn't care anymore.

_I'll protect them…! Even if that is the last thing I do!_

However, before Akashi or Soujirou could make the first move to attack, someone grabbed Akashi's wrist from his side, surprising him. "This way!" and he was pulled to run once again.

"What?" Akashi was very surprised. He knew that voice. He knew the feel of that big hand. It was… "Kagami Taiga!"

"_Shit! After them! Don't let them get away!"_

Soujirou's order sounded far away behind them. It seemed that Kagami ran as fast as he could while pulling Akashi, totally inconsiderate of Akashi's handicapped condition.

"Are you alright, Akashi?!" Kagami asked, or more like shouting since he was still running at full speed.

"Why…? How…?" Akashi was slightly bewildered.

"You did great, Akashi. You called for help. Finally, you realized it… even though it had to take them cornering you to make you admit it," Kagami said, somehow sounding rueful, but at the same time relieved.

"Calling… for help?" Akashi was in shock.

"_Please… help me…!"_

"When you are in need for help, just ask for it. They are… _we_ are friends, aren't we?" Kagami asked. There was a hint of spirit in his voice and Akashi was sure that Kagami was grinning for some reasons, despite being unable to see his face.

…

"You… are a weird person," Akashi couldn't help commenting. Well, he certainly was sure he never considered Kagami as a friend for one. "We are enemies on the court," he added, correcting the other red head.

"Ugh… you are really an insufferable, unlikeable guy!" Kagami sounded pretty offended, but he didn't stop running and didn't loosen his grip from Akashi's wrist as he pulled him. Akashi even felt that hold tightening if he knew better, to the point where it was hurting.

But Akashi also kept running, because that was the only thing he could do at the moment. Forget about plotting and just run, to be free… to be where he wanted to be.

"Why would a person try to save his enemy? I don't understand the way your mind works at all," Akashi said again when they slowed down slightly. It seemed they had reached a busy road at some point, and Kagami seemed to be confident that their pursuers wouldn't catch them in the middle of the crowd.

"Jeez, you… don't say such a discouraging thing. I don't need a reason to save you other than Kuroko… The people I love and care about, _care_ about you and treasure you. It's a natural instinct to want to make the people you love happy, you know," Kagami said, sounding annoyed, but there was a hint of embarrassment as well in his tone.

_Happiness… for the people you love…_

"There they are! Give my _Seijuurou _back, you thieving cat!"

Soujirou's voice was once again heard. "Tsk," Kagami clicked his tongue. "What a persistent guy! We won't stop running at this rate! How troublesome, should I just beat them up?"

Akashi snapped. "Fool. They are stronger than you," he tried to warn him.

"That's okay. The stronger they get, the more fired up I'll be," Kagami said confidently. "Ah, but if I have to protect you at the same, that will be too much even for me. What to do…?" he wondered and seemed to be looking around since Akashi could feel his restless movements.

"Just leave me alone and go away," Akashi ordered.

"Sheesh, I'm not taking orders from you," Kagami grunted, clearly irritated now. "Don't act so high and mighty when you are obviously not okay. Your eyes… they won't open, will they? You haven't opened them even once since I grabbed you earlier," he huffed.

Akashi hissed. "Are you trying to mock me?" Just because he was handicapped, didn't mean he would let someone else insult him.

"Haa? How did that turn into a mocking? I was telling you that it is okay to rely on other people at a time like this! Sheesh, what a difficult guy to please! Besides, if I leave you alone, you'll get lost! We're in the middle of a city, you know! And if our pursuers break into two or three parties, you'll surely get caught again!" Kagami was half yelling at that point.

…

Honestly, Akashi was feeling rather impressed despite being annoyed as well. "How do you know all of that?" he couldn't help asking.

"I'd been in America for a long time. The street-life there was tough, more than Japan," Kagami answered, his tone bragging.

"I see…" Akashi didn't know that because he had never been in the States, but he had enough information from newspapers and television about the rough life of American street-children. Kagami obviously wasn't a street boy, but if he played street ball there, he might have experienced it just the same.

"Oh, just in time!" suddenly Kagami exclaimed, surprising Akashi. "Oi, Furihata!"

_Eh?_

"Huh? Kagami?"

Another voice replied. Akashi of course remembered it since he had asked the boy to entertain him some days ago. It was Furihata Kouki, one of Seirin's basketball players, the weird guy who suddenly did a dogeza in front of him.

"I need you to take him and bring him somewhere safe, run as far away as possible from here," Kagami said. He then pulled Akashi's hand forward and gave it to another hand, which –Akashi assumed– to be Furihata's.

"Huh?" the hint of confusion was very clear in Furihata's voice tone.

"What?" Akashi was also very surprised.

"Hurry up and run!" Kagami raised his voice and released his hand from Akashi's wrist.

"Heeeeeeh?!" Furihata sounded like he was panicking.

"Wait a—! How could you just—?" Akashi also wanted to protest.

"Just go! I'll distract them!" Kagami seemed about to go away, but Akashi reached out blindly and successfully grabbed the tip of his jacket.

"You won't be able to play basketball anymore if you get involved in a fight!" Akashi didn't want to admit it, but he was worried. He didn't want other people to suffer things they shouldn't have to because of him, especially a rival like Kagami.

"What the hell are you saying? I am Kagami Taiga, the son of Kagami Taira, the one who brought Akashi Setsuna out of the Akashi Family unscathed, you know. If it's a fight, I can handle it just fine. Besides, I'm not an idiot who will fight a losing battle, and contrary to popular belief, I'm _smart_ enough not to get caught fighting," Kagami laughed lightly at that before Akashi felt a hand on his, prying it away from the jacket.

"You…." Akashi was once again impressed.

"Kagami!" Furihata shouted beside Akashi. It seemed Kagami stopped to look back.

"Furihata, _please… _I leave Akashi in your care," Kagami said surely.

There was a brief tense silence before Akashi felt the boy beside him tighten his hold on his hand. "Understood," he said. "This way," and then, once again, Akashi was pulled to run, but in another direction.

Soon after, the sound of Kagami's steps running to the other direction was heard as well, followed by _"That's him! The big redhead! After him!"_ other voices, presumably from their pursuers, from afar.

Apparently, the distraction strategy was a success.

_It seems Kagami does have some of Akashi's characteristic in him…._

…

"Ah," Akashi hardened his heart as he ran with him. Furihata Kouki.

They kept running while Kagami was distracting the pursuers, fighting them… for Akashi's sake. He still didn't understand well why Kagami would go so far. It was an alien presence in his thoughts. Why would someone want to help others without getting anything back…? He really couldn't stomach the idea.

"This way, Akashi-kun," Furihata said again before they entered some kind of building where they stopped and hid. "No one will look for us here. This place is safe," he said slowly, panting slightly.

"What… is this place?" Akashi couldn't help asking despite still breathing hard as he felt Furihata pull him down to sit and ease his tense body. His back hit the hard wall softly. Akashi felt rather relaxed at the warm feeling around him.

"It's a daycare. My sister works here," Furihata answered.

Well, indeed Yakuza wouldn't even think of setting a foot in a daycare without having second thought, since they would immediately get caught by a police. Akashi let out a long sigh at the momentary reassuring thought.

They were silent for a moment before Akashi noticed that the boy beside him started to fidget. Of course, he still couldn't see, but he could feel it. It was just his other senses being on _extra_ alert because of his handicapped eyesight.

Akashi turned to face Furihata and raised his eyebrows. "You aren't going to ask anything?" he asked, pretty much already composed. At least he wasn't wheezing and panting anymore. Plus he could rest his weakened body to some extent.

"Well," Furihata drawled slowly, sounding unsure. "If you want to tell me… but I won't pry if you don't," he quickly added, sounding nervous.

…

"What a strange fellow," Akashi couldn't help commenting and he could feel the other wince at his words. "You don't know anything and yet you decided to help anyway… both you and that guy too…. Is Seirin full of naïve people like you guys?" He shook his head. Seriously, Akashi didn't understand them and he was a genius.

"Uh… sorry for being naïve, but… Kagami said 'please'. I want to help him since we are friends, teammates," Furihata answered. There was a weird strength and poise in his voice, and Akashi definitely could feel that he was serious about it.

_Friends… teammates…._

"Of course…" Akashi couldn't help smiling slightly, maybe rather bitterly. It was something that he didn't have in him. The ability to trust other people aside himself to do the right thing.

"Your eyes… are they okay?" Furihata asked with a hint of worry in his tone.

"They are fine, having just gotten exposed to some kind of drug, I presume. Probably a _mydriatic_* drug that paralyzes my dilator muscles… my eyes can't take any light for some time or I'll go blind," he explained slightly and Furihata seemed to cringe at that.

"Drugs?" the other asked, sounding distressed. "Should we go to the hospital?"

"No, not the hospital… _he…_my family must have already set up some people in there. I don't want to get caught again," Akashi sighed deeply.

"But, you need a proper place to rest… and proper treatment. We can't stay here the whole time…" Furihata seemed to muse seriously. Akashi knew even without looking. The other boy was getting restless. "Akashi-kun, do you have a fever? You look… kinda flushed…" Now Furihata didn't sound so sure.

Akashi heard a rustling sound soon after and he was rather surprised when something warm was draped over his slightly shivering body.

_Huh? I didn't even notice that I was cold…_—Akashi thought strangely. It was probably the drugs in his system fault, numbing his sense of touch.

Akashi started to feel the effect of the drug more imminently afterwards since he was running around with that condition earlier. It was just some sips, but his body was not built up to tolerate such substance in it.

"Ah… my drink was spiked as well… some kind of roofie, I guess," Akashi answered while reaching to clutch at the material, his grip trembling slightly. It was some kind of jacket… a coat? Did Furihata take off his outer coat for him?

"Dear God, seriously?!" Furihata sounded panicked now. Akashi could almost hear his head screaming _'what the hell is going on here?!' _"Sheesh, then you are not alright at all! We have to call a doctor… no, getting you to somewhere perfectly safe comes first! Alright, let's go to my house! Then we can call a doctor to check on your condition," Furihata seemed to fiddle around and then there was a clicking sound before "Ah, hello, I need a taxi to…"

_Ah, he calls a taxi, huh? Rather than walking around and putting more burdens on my body… He's very thoughtful._

"…yes, thank you." Another click signaled the end of the short conversation on the cell phone, "It's alright, Akashi-kun. You will be okay." Furihata spoke to him once again.

_A reassuring line… I thought he was afraid of me at first, but knowing my weakened condition… knowing that I'm incapable of hurting him at this moment, he does act like he's not afraid at all. So his words weren't lies… What he is afraid of isn't me especially, but my aptitude._

"Really… what a peculiar person…" Akashi didn't know why, but he felt an outlandish comfort somehow, knowing that this… this _ordinary person_ seemed to see him just as… him.

Furihata kept sitting beside Akashi, probably trying to keep himself and Akashi warm, and Akashi was aware that Furihata had starting to hold his hand again. Strangely, though… Akashi didn't mind it. He actually took comfort in it. It was already bizarre enough that he let his guard down in front of this person, but really… Akashi was tired of keeping it up. He totally blamed the drugs for it.

A few minutes or so later, it seemed the taxi had come, as Akashi was carefully pulled to stand up slowly. "Let's go," Furihata said. Thus once again, he was gently steered to walk to a specific direction, but he didn't bother to say anything because he knew he would be alright.

What a strange feeling. Akashi thought he would be against it more, to be led around by the other person, a person he only knew just some days before, but he just felt… odd. He knew it was ridiculous, but… somehow… he didn't dislike that feeling.

_What is this foreign feeling?_

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

The ride didn't take long until the taxi stopped in front of an ordinary looking house. Furihata immediately thanked the driver and paid him before he took off with Akashi following shortly after.

Furihata was very concerned. Akashi just told him that someone… or some people had drugged the red haired boy. He knew from Kuroko that Akashi's family wasn't an ordinary family, but… Akashi was supposed to be an heir. Why would he be targeted by his own people?

Maybe there was a dispute? Anyway, Furihata was determined to keep Akashi safe. Although, Furihata did feel that he was _crazy_ for letting himself get involved, especially when _Kagami_ somehow was doing something apparently dangerous at that moment. Furihata didn't know the details, but Kagami had entrusted Akashi's safety to him, so he would just have to man up and keep his promise.

"This way, Akashi-kun," Furihata said as he once again held Akashi's hand to help direct him to enter his house.

Normally, Furihata wouldn't dare to actually touch Akashi Seijuurou, but Akashi was clearly in need for help because of his eyes' condition.

"I am sorry for the trouble," Akashi said, looking totally calm and composed, like the gentle man he was, when he stepped inside the house.

Really, Akashi didn't actually need to act so polite, but maybe it was because of the way he was brought up. He needed to appear as regal as possible, _perhaps_? Furihata could only shake his head at that, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.

"My mother is still at work in the hospital since she has a nurse shift this afternoon and evening, but my father is the usual company man, so he will be home at seven if he doesn't drink with his friends. My sister… ah, she lives with her boyfriend. Anyway, come on, I'll take you to my room to rest. Then I will call a doctor," Furihata said after he took off his shoes and readied some slippers for him and Akashi to use.

Furihata immediately noticed that Akashi's feet were scratched and some of the scratches were bleeding. He cringed. Those must have hurt a lot. Why didn't Akashi say anything?

_Can't appear weak in front of other people, huh?_—Furihata felt rather sad at that. Seriously, it would be extra difficult to take care of someone like Akashi Seijuurou who refused to rely on other people.

_I'll take a first aid kit and some warm water later to treat them—_was on Furihata's mind when he led Akashi to his bedroom.

#

Akashi tentatively sat on what he assumed to be Furihata's bed and slowly took off the coat that Furihata had selfishly put over him earlier.

"Wait here for a moment," Furihata said before the sound of the door being closed registered in Akashi's mind. The room felt warm and homey for some reason. There was a calming fragrance as well… an aroma therapy? But it didn't smell flowery or fruity like _one_.

_What is this scent?_—Akashi couldn't help sniffing lightly. It was a good scent. It didn't come from a specific direction. It felt more like it was surrounding him rather than there was a source of it. It was light and comforting as well.

Another click of the door signaled that Furihata had returned. "Sorry for the wait," the boy said as he closed the door again. Then he put something beside Akashi and sat there as well. "Let me see your feet," he asked afterwards.

"Eh?" Akashi turned to face him, puzzled.

"Your feet, they are bleeding," Furihata said again.

"Ah… right, sorry. The carpet…" Akashi lifted his feet because he didn't want to dirty the carpet in Furihata's room, but Furihata suddenly touched his hand, surprising him slightly.

"Forget about the carpet. I'd like you to worry about your feet more than some silly carpet that I can clean _later_. Your feet need treatment first," Furihata sounded slightly exasperated and once again, Akashi felt that he was weird.

Akashi let out a long sigh because from his tone, Furihata seemed to be very determined. "I can do that myself," he stated slowly.

"It's alright. I'm used to treating my teammates' light wounds since I'm on the bench most of the time," Furihata said, sounding slightly confident.

"No, that's not what I meant…" Akashi was slightly troubled. He wanted to say that he didn't want to be an inconvenience for Furihata further since he already did that by staying at his place, but… Furihata seemed to think that he doubted his ability to treat wounds.

Furihata then went quiet for a moment before he spoke again slowly. "I know. It must be hard to trust anyone after what happened to you… but will you let me try to win it over? Your trust, I mean…"

"Huh?" Akashi was slightly puzzled again. What was this guy saying? Akashi felt that his head was faintly heavier. Why did he feel so dizzy all of a sudden?

"Kuroko told me a lot of things about you… when you were still in middle school. As I thought, you are an incredible person. No wonder you can lead such amazing guys like the GoM. You took care of them and protected them. You reminded them of their mistakes and set them to do things properly. Moreover, you seem to trust them very much to bring victory to the Teikou basketball club constantly, but… you probably set some distances away from them as an individual. I got an impression that you still can't trust them to _know_ about you at a more personal level. Am I wrong?" Furihata asked again.

_Trust… at a more personal level?_

"To those people you treasure very much, you can't seem to show yourself as you are… Ah, of course you must have some reasons and situations to consider. That's why, to a stranger like me, you probably can't place your trust as well. I'm not on par with the GoM, and you may only know me for a few days, but Akashi-kun, I promise I won't lie to you or hurt you intentionally," Furihata continued, his voice very earnest. Akashi, even though he couldn't 'see' it with his eyes, somehow… he could feel the honesty behind every word.

_This is bizarre,_—Akashi was taught to always observe and think rationally to gather evidences after having his initial instinct to judge people's character. But, at this moment, his instinct was screaming at him to believe this guy.

_Maybe it's because I want to believe in him?_—Akashi was unsure. How come he felt such uncertainty? He was Akashi Seijuurou! He wasn't allowed to be uncertain about _anything_ at all!

_What is this? What the hell is this?_

All rational thoughts Akashi possessed seemed to crumble. He only had his wisdom as the main foundation to keep his perfect absolute world intact. If he lost it… if he lost his sense of rationality, his world would be torn apart.

_My head hurts…!_

"Akashi-kun?" Furihata's concerned voice snapped Akashi back from his train of thought. "Are you alright? You made a painful expression," he asked further.

Akashi knew he wasn't alright. His head was killing him from the inside for throbbing too much. But he couldn't let his weakness be shown anymore than he already had it exposed. If this went further, he would…!

"_I won't lie to you or hurt you intentionally."_

Another moment of insanity came over to him, forcing him to speak the truth. "Sorry… I don't feel so good…" and before Akashi knew what happened, everything went dark (even darker than his sightless state) and his consciousness departed.

#

"Akashi-kun?!" Furihata was surprised when Akashi's body suddenly collapsed. Luckily he moved fast enough to catch the other boy before he fell on the floor from his sitting position on the bed.

Upon the initial contact of him trying to support Akashi's body in his hold, Furihata immediately noticed. "Holly shi—! You have a fever?!"

Akashi's body temperature was very high, his breaths shallow, labored and irregular. Plus, Furihata also felt that the redhead's yukata was actually quite damp and cold because of the sweat, snow and the winter wind.

_Daaaamn! I should have told him to change first!_—Furihata panicked as he tried to make the taller boy lay down on his bed.

Successfully laying Akashi's body properly on the bed and his head on the pillow, Furihata immediately ran down the stairs to call a doctor before asking what he could do to help first.

A few moments later, following instruction from the phone, especially to prevent Akashi from catching pneumonia, Furihata tried to remove Akashi's damp yukata. His fingers shook slightly as he loosened Akashi's obi. He was praying to god that Akashi wouldn't mind Furihata changing his clothes.

_Ugh…!_—Furihata couldn't help noticing how nice and lean Akashi's body was even though the sickly pale color wasn't so good for his complexion. He wasn't bulky and all muscles like Kagami or Aomine, but Akashi did have some muscles in the right places.

For a moment Furihata thought he might have had inappropriate thoughts about Akashi, but he kicked his head inwardly for thinking such a thing in a dire situation like this.

"Wait, you want me to do WHAT?" Furihata almost screeched at the mouthpiece of the wireless phone when he asked for the next step after discarding the wet yukata.

"_Warm him up with your body. It's the basic knowledge during disasters to prevent hypothermia."—_was the stern reply from the phone.

"But doc, he has a _fever_!" Furihata protested.

"_He has a fever because his body is fighting the 'cold'. Help him fight that cold using skin-to-skin body heat. That's the faster way to stabilize his temperature. Some warm compresses on the forehead will help even more in addition to your body heat. Also use a lot of blankets. Make sure he is sweating,"_—the doctor explained again.

"U-understood," Furihata nodded despite knowing that the doctor on the end of the phone line couldn't see him. "A-anything else?" he asked.

"_That should do it for awhile, I will go there as soon as I finish treating my patients here in my clinic,"_—the doctor replied reassuringly.

"Alright, thank you very much, doc," Furihata said before he ended the call. He heaved a long suffering sigh, glancing at the unconscious boy on his bed… still naked save for his boxers.

_I should put pajamas on him…_

"…_skin to skin body heat…"_

_Gaaaah!_—Furihata couldn't help flushing deeply while scratching his head curtly at the thought. _This can't be serious, can it?! I have to sleep in the same bed as Akashi Seijuurou… naked?!_

Furihata was officially freaking out.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Meanwhile, Kagami had just finished fighting. As expected of a Yakuza Family, they weren't kidding with their strength and their use of weaponry like knifes… or daggers for that matter (thank GOD they didn't bring any guns with them or else).

Fortunately though, Kagami was _trained_ by his father personally to fight. What his father taught him wasn't a skill to brawl, but a proper fight to take down people with one or two blows.

If it was about places which could make a person stay down after being hit, Kagami was an anatomical expert. Of course, dealing with Soujirou was tough as well since he was also a combat expert. However, Soujirou didn't have the most important thing for a fighter that Kagami had.

_Something to protect._

Kagami was ten times stronger when he was fighting for other people than when he was just fighting for himself. Of course Soujirou who only fought for his _sick reason_ wouldn't be able to beat him. No matter how many dirty tricks Soujirou had used on him, Kagami just wouldn't fall because he had more lives on his back.

Kagami sighed deeply as he wiped the blood from his cut lips and the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket. He would have some bruises on some body parts tomorrow, but it was worth it. He still won anyway. Now he only had to call his mom and she would call Akashi's dad to fix this problem internally. There was no need for the police to know about this.

_Besides, I will get in trouble too if the basketball association catches wind of this incident…._

Kagami took out his cell phone before walking away while calling his mom. "Ah, mom? It's Taiga. Yeah. Just got Akashi to escape…. Nah, I'm fine. You will call Akashi's dad, now? How about his mom…?"

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"You _FOUGHT_ them?!" the GoM members (except Kuroko who only considerably paled when he saw the state of his boyfriend and Murasakibara who dropped his snack and literally hung his jaw open mouthed) and their boyfriends shouted in total shock.

"Are you an IDIOT, you—Bakagami!?" Aomine added, yelling even louder this time. His face looked very angry even though he was actually freaking out and probably worried, but he would never say that to anyone else.

"Taiga, you…! Why are you so reckless?!" Now Himuro scolded his surrogate brother tensely totally worried such that he even actually expressed his horror through his expression.

"It's a miracle that you actually came back at all…!" Takao, _apparently_, was literally impressed and maybe a little concerned too, but judging from his shiny wide eyes, the awe obviously won over his mixed feelings at that moment.

"Your stupidity really knows no boundary, huh? Do you want to die so badly?" Midorima scowled at Kagami, looking disapproving. However, his voice obviously shook slightly, so the Shuutoku ace probably was just as worried as, maybe more than, the others about Kagami's safety despite the tsundere line.

"Kagami-chiiiii!" Kise cried as he launched himself at Kagami who didn't expect the surprise attack and immediately fell painfully on the floor in front of his doorstep because he couldn't stand the force and the blond's weight. "Thank god you're alright! OMG! You _are_ a moron! Stupid! Waaaah!"

"Ow, Kise, you idiot! You're heavy! Get off!" Kagami of course immediately shoved the dead-weight away from him. "Do you want to add to my injuries?!"

"Aaaah! I'm sorry! Are you okay?!" Kise paled as he tried to fuss over Kagami.

"Shut up already! Sheesh…!" As Kagami tried to stand up, Momoi immediately rushed to help and support him.

"Jeez, Kagamin, you are so hot-headed…! Why did you fight all by yourself?" Momoi looked about to cry and Kagami suddenly felt very sorry for worrying everyone.

"Kagami-kun…"

Then Kagami's attention floated to Kuroko who looked at him with such heart-breaking sky blue eyes. He actually _looked_ very upset and about to cry as well. It was very intense because Kagami only saw that expression once when they were defeated by Touou in their first match.

_Oi, oi! Seriously? Why are you making that face, Kurokooo?!_—Of course Kagami winced and panicked instantly when faced with such a situation.

"Ku-Kuroko, I'm alright, see?" Kagami immediately pried himself off of Momoi's support and awkwardly tried to show the blue haired boy that he was okay by moving his limbs freely, _forcing it_. "Okay?" Well, he couldn't help cringing at some points though, because it seriously HURT to move around like that after the fight.

"Your injuries… are worse than before…" Kuroko reached out and touched the busted lips gently, the bruises on his cheek, the scratches on his neck. "Why… why are you injured to this extent…?"

Kuroko's voice shook, his lithe body trembling, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. Kagami felt very, _very remorseful_ for causing Kuroko to experience such _feelings_ that caused him to _look_ like that.

Kagami couldn't help it when he didn't know what to do anymore. He immediately surged forward and hugged the smaller boy tightly in his arms. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for causing you such horrible feelings and thank you so much for being worried," he whispered softly, closing his eyes and kissing Kuroko's hair gently, gratefully. "But I'm really okay. I managed to get Akashi away from his family… and he properly said 'please help me', you know. It was incredible, right?"

_Well, he had to suffer some damages before he asked for help though, but Kuroko doesn't have to know that…._

"Akashi-kun did?" Kuroko looked upward at Kagami's crimson eyes with his widened clear-blue ones, actually looking surprised and sounding hopeful.

"Yeah," Kagami gave him a small reassuring smile, before he kissed Kuroko's forehead as well.

"Then, these injuries…?" Kuroko gently moved his hands to touch Kagami's arm, clenching at his jacket slightly.

"Had to distract the pursuers so Akashi could get away safely," Kagami grinned cheerily at him.

"Then, where is Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked.

"I entrusted him to Furihata who was passing by accidentally," Kagami smirked.

"Oh… are you sure it was okay to leave Akashi-kun and Furihata-kun alone? I mean, it _is _Akashi-kun… and even though Furihata-kun shows a little interest towards him, suddenly letting them be alone is a little…" Now Kuroko seemed to be worried about Furihata's safety.

"It's alright. Akashi won't hurt the person that saved him. Besides, if you are still worried about more pursuers, mom and Akashi's dad will take care of it," Kagami put his forehead on Kuroko's, smiling again comfortingly.

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko showed him, just a little bit of a relieved smile. "But, I still absolutely hate it when Kagami-kun is injured," he added shortly after that, looking at Kagami's eyes like a sad lonely little puppy.

Kagami twitched. He _hated_ (loved) it when Kuroko made such expression. Forget about the fact that Kagami hated dogs. Even though Kuroko was usually emotionless, and even though the change of expression was less noticeable, the bluenet was so _totally _freaking adorable when he showed that look.

Kagami's heart couldn't handle such look! He would want to kiss the daylight out of Kuroko so badly!

"Kuroko…" Kagami of course just wanted to do what his heart desired. He leaned closely to Kuroko's face and his lips were an inch away from the inviting, half parted luscious pink plumps of his boyfriend when he heard an awkward _cough_ from behind him.

Kagami froze on the spot while Kuroko visibly sighed in disappointment.

"Are they going to kiss?" It was Takao.

"They are, right?" Now it was Himuro.

"Please don't forget us here," Aomine.

"Aomine-chi! Shush!" Kise.

"Ck. Get a room already," Midorima.

_Crunch, crunch, crunch. _Murasakibara.

"Oh, could you guys please shut up? It's getting interesting!" and Momoi followed. By the way, she was the loudest among them.

Kagami felt the blood rising to his face and head as his body trembled and he turned to face the loitering _uninvited_ guests of his house with such scathing mortified glare that they _should have_ realized that they had completely interrupted _the moment_.

"Why… are you guys still here?" Kagami tried to act as calmly as possible despite the twitching muscles and the dark aura emanating from his body. Seriously, he could literally felt the strings of patience snapping one by one from his self control.

"Eh, well… we want to know about the matter regarding Akashi-kun…" Momoi laughed slightly, sheepishly, beads of sweat prickling out of her (and the others') face.

"Leave." Kagami was on the verge of snapping the last string now.

"Huwaaah! Kagami-chi, scaryyyyyy!" Kise wailed loudly, looking very pale and totally terrified for his life.

"W-wait a sec! It's your own fault for forgetting that we are here!" Aomine protested, but he seemed slightly intimidated by Kagami's look.

Well, who would blame him? Kagami actually came back _alive_ after fighting Yakuza for God's sake!

"What did you say!?"

"And it's your damn fault for getting _in the mood_ knowing we're still here," Midorima glared at Kagami as well, despite stepping back two or three meters away from him.

"Shut up! This is my freaking home! Whatever I want to do here is my choice! Moreover, why did you guys selfishly decide my apartment as the base of your hanging out spot!? GO HOME! All of you!" Now, Kagami snapped for real.

Then Kagami literally kicked them all out of his house, well, except Momoi because she was a girl, but she obediently left after witnessing what he was capable of with his foot, seeming traumatized after that matter and not wanting to take chances.

Kagami slammed the door of his apartment shut in front of their faces, totally ignoring the deafening shout of "KAGAMI YOU JERK!" from the obviously very pissed off Aomine.

The obscene curses still continued when Kagami turned around to face the somewhat amused looking Kuroko. "You do not have to be that angry," he said slowly.

Kagami scowled. "They should learn how to read the atmosphere and let other people have their privacy, those guys," he huffed, still pretty annoyed.

"But they are good friends, right?" Kuroko looked upward at Kagami, smiling softly. Kagami had to soften his expression at the thought while facing such a pure defenseless being.

"Yeah," Kagami didn't hesitate to agree before he approached his boyfriend and touched Kuroko's cheek before leaning down to kiss him on the lips gently.

Kuroko kissed him back and parted his lips to receive Kagami's tongue inside his warm, wet mouth as the redhead deepened it. He moaned slightly and pulled back, licking his lips. "It tastes like copper," he said.

Kagami flinched. "Sorry," he smiled sheepishly before hugging him and kissing his cheek.

Kuroko shook his head slightly as he pulled Kagami's neck down. "How cool, it gets me rather excited, somehow…" he whispered in his ear and bit his earlobe, causing Kagami to flush both from the words and the action.

"Jeez, you…" Kagami was troubled when Kuroko was being this seductive. He immediately lifted Kuroko bridal style after his words.

"Ah, wait—, Kagami-kun?" Kuroko widened his eyes slightly looking surprised, and immediately held Kagami's neck tighter to balance his body.

"It's your own fault for teasing too much," Kagami kissed the exposed pale neck and Kuroko let out an involuntarily pleasured sigh.

"Ah, at least let me treat your wounds first," Kuroko huffed lightly while tangling his fingers in Kagami's crimson locks.

"Heeh, you want to play bandage?" Kagami chuckled suggestively and Kuroko actually blushed slightly at that.

"Idiot," then they sealed each others' lips once more in the midst of Kagami's musical chuckle and Kuroko soft (rather embarrassed) smile.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

_How warm…_

It somehow felt like he was floating. Comfortable, pliable satiny material surrounding him, lulling him. Akashi had never felt this contented before.

Akashi opened his eyes slightly, but he immediately closed them again because it was still painful to do so. The blinding light hurt his eyes and he didn't like it. He wanted to feel this enjoyable feeling longer.

There was a rustling voice beside him and he could feel the satin move as well.

_Huh?_

"…_-kashi-kun."_

"Nnh…" Akashi groaned slightly at the gentle distant voice.

"_Akashi-kun."_

_Huh? The voice was closer?_

"Akashi-kun."

Akashi snapped awake as he heard the clear voice now and he immediately regretted opening his eyes because he was instantly blinded again by the very strong light. "Ugh…!" he immediately covered his face with his palm, groaning painfully while sitting up groggily.

"Ah, Akashi-kun, a-are you alright?" the voice beside him finally registered in Akashi's mind as Furihata's when Akashi could hear it right and feel that he was also sitting up, touching his back comfortingly.

"Ah… yes, I'm fine. I just forgot about my eyes…" Akashi let out a long sigh before he put down his hand again, and now noticing that he wasn't wearing any clothes. He touched his bare chest.

…

"Where are my clothes?"

Furihata obviously flinched as he pulled his hand back, since Akashi could feel the jump. "Euh… um… yo-you caught a- a fever and your yukata was wet so… doctor said I had to remove it. I-I'm sorry for getting ahead of myself and-…"

Furihata hadn't even finished his explanation when Akashi _noticed_ another peculiar thing. "Why are you in bed with me?"

Furihata yelped at that. "Um…! T-there's a very strong reason for-for this! I mean…! Doctor said that you your temperature had to be s-stabilized, a-and the fastest way to do that is—!"

Akashi didn't let Furihata finish his sentence again as he lifted his hand to touch Furihata's skin beside him. The moment his palm made a contact with the soft pliable skin, he was immediately assaulted by the warm pleasant feeling he had felt in his sleep earlier.

"E-eh? Err… Akashi-kun…?" Furihata sounded very perplexed when Akashi lifted his _other hand_ to touch the warm skin as well.

_What… is this…?_

It was a very warm… and enjoyable feeling.

"So it was you…" Akashi was very surprised and a little bit dazed at this revelation.

Maybe it was because Akashi still had the fever, but… somehow… he wanted to… and he just did as he pushed the other boy to lay down once again on the bed. The temporary blind basketball player draped his arms around Furihata's body and held him close despite another surprised yelp from the brunet.

"HIEH?! Wa-wait a—! Akashi-kun?!" Furihata's tone was a notch higher, sounding totally alarmed, but Akashi couldn't bring himself to care about that right then.

"So warm…" Akashi whispered, sighing contently. "Such a strange, nice feeling… Why is it?" he couldn't help asking, to no one in particular but more to himself, as his consciousness was drifting away once again.

_So sleepy…._

"Eh? A-Akashi-kun?" another confused question came from Furihata, who raised his hand to touch Akashi's back again and it felt so… _wonderful_.

_Even though I have only known you for a few days… why is it so comforting to hold you like this…?_—Akashi didn't understand… hadn't understood it.

But, come what may, Akashi Seijuurou got a feeling that he would… and once he understood it, he would never let that feeling go.

**End of Chapter 8**

**Tbc…**

* * *

***Mydriatic drug: **commonly used to treat cataract before surgery. Its function is to paralyze dilator muscles to dilate or widen eye pupils. The use of this drug in normal eyes will cause the pupils to dilate and/or widen uncontrollably so they can't control the intake of light into the eye, which will cause momentarily blindness (since retina is very sensitive to light) until the drug effect wears off (the period of blindness depends on how much it's used). It's usually in the form of eye drops.

**A/N: **See, just like I said in the previous chapter, I _can't_ finish it in 8 chapters. Ugh. Have to add another one. I got really carried away making Akashi/Furihata moments there. I'm sorry Akashi is VERY OOC here. Forgive me. It's just… when he's in the moment of weakness (which is impossible in CANON btw), I just want to make him feel a lot wonderful feelings where he can rely on other people too! Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as well. The next chapter will be the end plus the epilogue for the entire series of 'Finding GoM Matching Partner'.

Stay tuned!


	9. Part 9: Final

**A/N: **Sheesh, I actually wanted to update this yesterday, but last night I fell asleep on my desk out of exhaustion...

Uh…I'm back to update this story, guys! I know, it's been awhile, but you have to excuse me. I'm busy with life! And I just came back from another table tennis tournament (oh God, it's totally in SEASON and I seized 2nd place this time! Yay! I even managed to defeat the opponent that defeated me at best 8th in our previous match before! XD), and I haven't even started to make fic for Takao's birthday! *despaired* Not because of lack of trying. Writer block is really annoying. I meant, what I want to write had been written by other authors, so I couldn't come up with nice idea for Takao's birthday! Oh, but I drew a pic for Takao's birthday, though… it's on my journal and deviant art (link to my account is in my profile). Ah, and I drew that promotion flyer for Doll Princess play in **'You plus Me equals?'** as well. You can see that in my deviant art or my journal.

Oh, right, thank you for all the reviews, faves and alerts, guys! Also, _**tora-chan83**_, thank you sooo much for your help to beta this chapter! XD Anyway, please just ignore my babble and start to read. _Enjoy._

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**Warning: **_AU, language, yaoi, slight oOC-ness, beware of R-ish scene in the middle, etc…_

* * *

**Signal**

_**Part 9: Final**_

* * *

"Nn…"

Akashi scrunched up his face slightly, feeling somewhat chilly, and slowly opened his eyes. It was rather painful to open them at first because of the brightness and his sight was very blurry, but then gradually, the light dimmed before he managed to actually _spot_ any form around him.

Akashi blinked as he remembered that he couldn't open his eyes the previous day, but it seemed the drug effect had subsided because the light no longer attacked his eyes anymore and now he could see clearly. Though, he couldn't help blinking once in strangled surprise when he registered what he saw at that moment.

It was another boy's face.

A light-brown haired boy who was soundly sleeping beside him… in the _nude_.

_Furihata… Kouki_—Akashi gradually understood this rather 'disturbing' situation as some events of the day before slowly came flooding back into his mind. He recalled that he had been attacked in his own home by his own brother and then rushed out of his house to escape.

Akashi was irked at the thought that he had been cornered by a lesser being such as Soujirou, but he just sighed and kept his anger at bay to assess his current state of affairs. He also remembered that Kagami Taiga had somehow helped him escape by distracting his pursuers after entrusting Akashi to the currently naked boy on the bed beside him.

Akashi kept silent, thinking that this was kind of… bizarre. He looked at his own shape which was similar to Furihata. His skin was also quite exposed. Out of curiosity, he grabbed the edge of the blanket and lifted it slowly to check. Thank GOD he and Furihata still had their boxers on, but Akashi was also quite surprised that he didn't mind the closeness they shared at that moment, not in the slightest, and that was very weird.

_This is very peculiar and intriguing…_—Akashi couldn't help wondering. The usual him would have snapped and kicked the people that dared to undress him, and moreover to sleep on the same bed as him without his consent. He probably would have stabbed them as well. But this….

Akashi didn't know why he did this. For the most part, he remembered that he was the one who pushed Furihata down and held him close on Furihata's bed last night, after he woke up from a restless slumber because of his bad condition… feeling somehow very comfortable when he touched Furihata's skin and felt his warmth around him. He, himself, didn't understand why he felt that way. Was he somehow starving of human contact? Or was it because he was sick, so his body just needed some kind of reassurance?

Akashi glanced down at the still snoozing Furihata. The smaller boy looked very peaceful like this and Akashi was curious if he would feel the same peace as last night if he touched him again. He felt much better now anyway, so if his theory of sickness was right, there was nothing to fuss about.

It was just a moment of weakness and nothing more. Akashi could always fix that.

However, Akashi wasn't quite prepared for what he _felt_ when his fingertips made contact with Furihata's soft cheek.

_Oh._

Somehow there was that surge of a strange feeling when he felt how supple Furihata's bare skin was. It was fair in healthy light rosy color; it felt warm and suddenly, Akashi wanted to touch some more. He stroked the soft texture lightly, feeling it with his palm and Furihata sighed slightly, leaning closer to his touch, seeming to feel at ease.

It was very fascinating and magical. Akashi had never touched someone like that before. People tended to shy away from his touch out of fear after all. But Furihata's reaction –in spite of him doing it unconsciously– was the contrary, as if he actually enjoyed the skin-contact with Akashi. For some reasons, the red head felt rather agitated knowing this.

_Indeed… this is very strange…—_Akashi's mind couldn't help whispering again as his hands moved with a child's curiosity, fingers tracing the pliable skin of Furihata's face all over; tucking the strands of Furihata's hair off of his forehead before going down to his nose, cheeks, until they stopped at the corner of Furihata's mouth.

Akashi stared at the pair of sakura colored lips for a moment before his thumb caressed the bottom plump. It was soft, softer than the rest of Furihata's face. It was slightly dry, but there was this nagging feeling inside Akashi that it would feel even more wonderful if he touched that part of Furihata with his own lips.

At the strange thought, Akashi snapped and pulled his hand away immediately as if it was suddenly burned. He shook his head slightly after, trying to clear that _odd _idea out of mind. What was he thinking? Did he just think that he wanted to…?

Akashi tried to look away, and he _did_. But for some unplumbed reasons, his gaze flickered back to Furihata's face repeatedly after his speculation.

_What's… happening here?_—Akashi couldn't help feeling that he had gotten himself into something very troublesome. He wasn't sure of what he felt, but if he was right, then… that feeling must have been….

_Desire?_

Akashi combed his crimson hair back, sighing slightly, feeling rather troubled. An Akashi like himself… desiring a guy like Furihata? This had to be some kind of a sick joke. But then again, if that was the case, it could easily explain why he felt so _good_ touching Furihata, to be around him, to feel his warmth. It also clarified why he didn't mind this _disturbingly_ close proximity despite knowing that Furihata was a lesser being.

_Wait, I can't just jump into conclusions here. It may have been the same as what I feel towards my GoM members…_

But when Akashi tried to imagine any of them getting touchy-feely with him, he immediately felt repulsed. Even he had never let Murasakibara get so close to him past putting his head on Akashi's shoulder and maybe lifting Akashi when he felt sick, but there was always minimum skin to skin contact for all those occasions.

And yet… when Akashi thought about Furihata, as ridiculous as it might be, he only felt curious of how _good _it would feel to put his arms around the smaller teen, to snuggle and _maybe_ kiss him. It was wrong, and yet Akashi just couldn't help wondering about it because the image he saw inside his head piqued his interest very much.

_There must have been something wrong with me…—_Akashi thought again, feeling the urge to sigh morosely, but his eyes were just drawn to Furihata's sleeping form again. The urge to make more skin-to-skin contact was slightly bothering Akashi and against his better judgment, he reached out once again to touch the other boy.

Akashi's supposedly fleeting touch wasn't exactly fleeting this time, and not just on Furihata's face, he was tempted to be more adventurous with it. His ivory long neck… his slender shoulder blades…. Akashi put more pressure on each touch, outlining and mapping Furihata's skin more prominently until Furihata seemed to feel them.

"Nnh…" Furihata moaned lightly, his face contorting in slight pleasure. Hearing such audible gratification while seeing such bliss in Furihata's demeanor–because of his touches– almost cracked Akashi's self control. Luckily, (or too bad, actually) Furihata slowly opened his eyes. The other boy seemed to be very surprised as his glassy eyes landed on Akashi's dichromatic ones.

Furihata immediately squeaked and jerked awake. His body tensed and he frantically moved away until he fell down from the bed to the hard floor. "Ow…!" he moaned in pain for a brief moment before abruptly remembering, "Ah! E-eh, um…!" he stuttered, flushing bright red from head to toe as he looked upward at Akashi, his expression turning into such an interesting mortified look that Akashi wanted to chuckle a bit.

Indeed, Furihata was uniquely one of a kind.

"Good morning, Kouki," Akashi didn't forget his manners and greeted, smiling slightly.

"Eh, err… A-Akashi-kun… you're a-awake…" Furihata was still sputtering, seeming to try his best to calm down despite his state of undress. He quickly noticed that and flushed some more as he automatically tried to grab his clothes on the chair at his studying desk and put them on in record time.

For a moment there Akashi felt rather disappointed that Furihata was quite self-conscious about his body. It was such a shame that Akashi no longer could see that fine, slender body shape and skin. Well, he could always ask him to undress again if he wanted to. With a personality like Furihata's, he probably would do it if it was Akashi's request.

"S-…sorry about that, Akashi-kun. Uh… g-good morning. Ho-how are your feeling?" Furihata then sat down on the chair after bringing it closer to the bed. He was still blushing deeply and looking extremely embarrassed, but he appeared to be trying hard to make a conversation for Akashi's sake.

Akashi couldn't help feeling that Furihata was a very kind guy. "Thanks to you, I feel much better now," he said gently.

"A-and your eyes… they can see now?" Furihata asked again, gradually building his composure.

"Yes, fortunately, the drug effect only lasted one night for my eyes," Akashi answered calmly.

"Oh… t-that's good…" Furihata sighed slightly, looking relieved. "I'm glad…."

Akashi looked at Furihata intently for a moment until the boy realized that he was being watched. Furihata averted his gaze from him and started to fidget, obviously extremely uncomfortable. Akashi could instantly guess that there was something bothering him and it must have had to do with the event last night, so he saved the boy from the trouble and spoke first.

"About last night," Akashi could see the boy cringe, but he didn't intend to dwell on it for too long anyway, so he continued, "I appreciate your help. In my weakened state, I might have done or said some things that don't make any sense. Just don't take it too personally and forget about it."

Part of it was for Akashi's sake too, because he didn't like looking weak in front of other people. But more than anything, he didn't want Furihata to feel sorry for him because there was nothing to be sorry about. He might have made a mistake regarding the way he acted and thought for a long time, but it was part of his life, of who he was, so he wasn't sorry about it. Now he knew what he had to do. First, he had to fix the damage his idiotic brother had done to the Akashi Family and then… then he would try to start over with his friends.

Akashi would be more honest this time and maybe… maybe he would try to see where he stood from their perspectives, to do the right thing… for Akashi and for his precious friends' sake.

"Um… you mean you aren't angry that I selfishly took your clothes off and slept beside you?"

Akashi blinked once at the silly question and peered at Furihata who was still fidgeting and looking ashamed. Akashi was honestly rather stunned. Was Furihata more worried about making him angry than all the things Akashi had done to inconvenience him?

"You…, your sense of priority is rather askew, isn't it?" Akashi couldn't help commenting, a bead of sweat trickling out his cheek.

"E-eh? W-why?!" Furihata appeared surprised at that remark.

"I recalled… last night you already explained that it was necessary to nurse me back to health. Why would I be angry with you over helping me? In fact, you should have felt that _I_ had become a hassle to you." Akashi was seriously peeved. Sometimes trying to understand other people's thoughts was slightly unnerving.

"Eh? No, well… I kind of figured that Akashi-kun is rather… private and that level of intruding on your personal space might be too much, so… B-but, I'm glad if you don't mind it. A-and no, you aren't a hassle at all. It's what friends do, right? H-helping each other… ah! It-it's not like I expect you to regard me as your friend, b-but… I think I want you to be… err, sheesh, what am I saying?"

Furihata frantically tried to explain with a shaky voice, appearing uncertain and undoubtedly frustrated about composing his words while scratching his head with a troubled and embarrassed look. Oh, how cute.

_Wait, what?—_Akashi was perturbed at his own thought. Did he just think that Furihata was cute? He must still be very tired somehow.

"Well, if it had been other people, I would have stabbed them with scissors for sure," Akashi admitted, chuckling darkly and Furihata squawked in shock and horror at his confession. "But because you have been so nice to me, Kouki, I think I will give you the privilege to touch me," he continued, smiling again at Furihata who jumped and trembled for some reason. Did Akashi make a scary look?

"Um… uh… o-okay…" Furihata seemed about to say something else, but then he halted and just turned away with a flushing face, looking somewhat awkward.

Akashi couldn't help smirking. "I was just kidding, Kouki. You don't have to feel so self-conscious," he felt that teasing Furihata was fun even though he wasn't exactly lying about what he said. He really wouldn't mind Furihata touching him again if the situation called for it.

Furihata's face became even redder at that. "Um… please don't joke about something like that…!" he exclaimed, covering his face. "It's hard enough to restrain my imagination you know… especially when you are in this state, Akashi-kun…."

Akashi blinked once before he looked at himself and suddenly realized that his bare skin was still pretty much exposed to the boy in front of him. Looking at the way Furihata acted, somehow… Akashi sensed that he had looked and sounded like…

_Oh no. That's just—_Akashi had the decency to feel rather uncomfortable at his own action. He glanced away slightly, shortly after his cheeks felt warm. It wasn't like he was trying to seduce Furihata or anything. He was just teasing the boy a little.

_But… he did say he was trying to restrain his imagination. Does that mean Kouki has interest in me at some point?_—Akashi felt like knowing. He was curious. He had never experienced something like this before after all.

"What are you imagining, exactly?" Akashi couldn't help asking. Furihata's face color turned into that of a boiled lobster's, his expression bothered beyond belief.

"A-Akashi-kun!" Furihata looked exasperated and so mighty embarrassed that Akashi felt like laughing.

This was very strange. How come Akashi enjoyed this silly conversation so much? He felt alleviated, like he didn't have to put up a façade to respond to any question and expression, just being able to speak freely because he wanted to, not having to mind his words in fear of the consequence.

Akashi had never felt this liberated before. It felt… amazing.

"Thank you," somehow, Akashi felt that he needed to say it because he felt very grateful at that moment. He was thankful that he met Furihata and happy that he could spend this moment with him.

Furihata seemed to be bewildered of why Akashi thanked him, but he just accepted it without question and smiled at Akashi in return. "You are welcome."

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

A few hours later, Furihata introduced his family, except his sister because she wasn't home, to Akashi.

Last night was like _hell_ to explain when his dad found out that Furihata had slept on the same bed with Akashi _without_ clothes. Seriously, the older man was on the verge of freaking out, but of course Furihata promptly tried to elucidate the situation, albeit frantically and _without_ screaming since Akashi still needed his rest. Luckily, his dad was willing to back off until this very moment.

"I'm sorry for being an inconvenience to your family," was what Akashi said first while bowing formally and politely (but still regally, and already clothed with Kouki's pajamas of course) that Furihata's father could only gape and his mother appeared very impressed at the splendid manners this young man possessed.

Explaining the whole situation in detail was impossible because of a lot of reasons and issues Furihata didn't really want to know about, so Akashi seemed to choose his words carefully and spoke reverently on his behalf. "Your son has been incredibly kind to a stranger such as myself for letting me stay over when I was very sick yesterday. Please don't punish him because he did nothing wrong. I, Akashi Seijuurou, am very grateful for his help and will never forget this debt for the rest of my life."

Well, Akashi was a young master of an enormously rich and successful family, moreover an heir of such giant corporation as the Akashi Group. It was bound to happen that he had a perfect manner in dealing with any kind of situation, and being in his good graces was everything a commoner would want, especially when Furihata's parents recognized his name immediately.

They practically encouraged Furihata to be his friend instantly without asking too many questions. They didn't even care about the 'sleeping on the same bed naked' incident anymore after that. Furihata could only palm his face, feeling absolutely appalled at his parents' obvious change of attitude after knowing Akashi's status.

_Damn commoner's life!_—Furihata couldn't help cursing his own fate.

"Kouki, be good to our guest. Papa and Mama have to go to work now," his father said, giving them a dopey smile.

"Akashi-san, please take care of our Kou-chan," his mother added in a sweetened voice, giggling happily.

"Sheesh, just go to work already, you two!" Furihata practically pushed them out of his room before slamming the door shut on their very joyful, _suggestive _faces.

"Your parents are very _interesting_," Akashi commented dryly from the bed.

Akashi's body seemed still slightly sluggish because he couldn't stand up when Furihata asked him to come down to the guest room since his parents wanted to talk earlier, so they conversed in Furihata's room.

"I'm sorry they are so thwarting," Furihata said, letting out a long suffering sigh, still feeling ashamed of his parents' behavior.

"Ah, but I can see that they are good people. After all, you were the fruit of their love and you are a good person. They brought you up so well," Akashi said, throwing a small smile at him. Watching the gesture, Furihata couldn't help blushing again.

Seriously, Akashi looked really good when he smiled. Moreover, his eyes were warmer and gentler than the first time he saw the red head, or when he was with him at that café.

"_But because you have been so nice to me, Kouki, I think I will give you that privilege to touch me."_

Exactly, what did that mean? Did Akashi really joke when he said that? It was practically saying that he didn't mind if Furihata wanted to touch him again. In what way? Why was Furihata obsessing over it in the first place, damn it?! It was Akashi Seijuurou! He couldn't think about him that way!

_Get a grip of yourself, Furihata Kouki!_

"You are turning red again, Kouki. What's wrong?" Akashi asked, but Furihata could see the corner of his mouth turn up slightly. He was smirking, damn it! He knew exactly why Furihata was blushing!

_I'm insane because I keep thinking about a sadistic psycho like Akashi Seijuurou_—Furihata lamented inwardly on how _abnormal_ his mind was. But he just couldn't help it. Akashi somehow… made him feel special. Because he was sure Akashi wouldn't act this way towards anyone else… was it because he had somehow saved him? But Kagami did the dangerous part….

_Ah. Right, Kagami…. I wonder if he's okay…_—Furihata suddenly remembered about that matter and it apparently showed on his face because Akashi's expression turned slightly somber as well.

"Kouki?"

Furihata snapped from his train of thought and looked upward at Akashi who peered at him questioningly. There was a hint of concern in his sharp mismatched eyes and Furihata sighed slightly. "Sorry… I was just thinking about Kagami," he said. "Yesterday… he seemed about to do something dangerous. I'm kinda worried if he's okay now."

Akashi was quiet for a brief moment, outwardly thoughtful before responding. "Why don't you just give him a call? I'm quite sure he's fine, though," he suggested, sounding confident.

"You think so?" Furihata couldn't help but feel rather comforted after hearing such reassurance from Akashi. After all, he was rarely wrong, right, with his Emperor Eyes and all?

"Yes, somehow… I want to believe that it's true… or so," Akashi continued slowly.

It was surprising to hear something like that from the red head. He somehow… had changed a lot considering how he acted the first time Furihata met him. "That was… very peculiar of you, speaking like that…," he stared dumbly at Akashi afterwards.

Akashi smiled slightly at that. "He made me realize about many things… that Kagami… and you as well," he spoke slowly and his eyes turned even gentler now.

_Wow…_—Furihata couldn't help feeling amazed at that view. Akashi's red and golden orbs seemed to glimmer. They looked very… beautiful and it stirred something exhilarating in Furihata's heart, something warm and sensitive and oh, how it made his heartbeat increase its pace and intensity.

"I-I didn't do anything, though," Furihata said timidly, stuttering while looking down, feeling self-conscious again and fighting against another blush.

"But you did. You showed me that… I am a human too," Akashi said as he reached out to touch Furihata's hand. "You taught me to feel… like a human is supposed to," he continued slipping his fingers between Furihata's before holding it tightly.

Furihata was confused because he didn't think he had done anything like that, but who could understand how Akashi's mind works anyway? He was probably thinking about something unbelievable inside that genius head of his, and Furihata had learnt not to think too much of what Akashi thought if he wanted his own mind to stay healthy.

"But… Akashi-kun was always human to begin with… right?" It sounded stupid, really, and yet Furihata just wanted to make sure that Akashi wasn't an alien or something as he held Akashi's hand back.

Akashi blinked once before he chuckled slightly. "Only you would take it literally," he shook his head, but he seemed very pleased.

Furihata couldn't help smiling as well seeing such a content expression on Akashi's face, despite not getting what Akashi meant.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Kagami was kissing him.

They were kissing… making out on the couch in Kagami's living room and it was getting more intense by the second with how Kagami licked at his bottom lips repeatedly, occasionally biting down gently to make him open his mouth so he could invade it with his slick talented tongue.

"Ah- mnh…" Kuroko couldn't help moaning at how wonderful it felt when he granted that permission. Kagami's peculiar tangy flavor immediately explode in Kuroko's taste buds, mixed with the taste of the delicious omelet Kagami had made for them for breakfast this morning and the taste of coffee they drank afterwards, when his tongue made contact with Kuroko's.

Kagami kissed deeper, actively exploring inside Kuroko's mouth while humming in their kiss, a jolt of pleasure engulfed the teen when he licked the soft and hard palate before thrusting so deep he thought Kagami tried to reach his tonsil.

Kuroko couldn't help groaning helplessly at the hot, wet pleasure he received from his boyfriend. Even though he had thought that this was a bad idea at first because they weren't even inside Kagami's room and Setsuna could walk in on them at any moment despite not coming home last night.

But, seriously, Kagami was such a good kisser. He could always blow Kuroko's mind with only his kisses; and when his hands were enthusiastically touching his skin as well, he just couldn't help but melt.

Every touch and caress felt like fire, incinerating his desire. It was so hot, electrifying, making his body shiver and tremble, weak while craving for more. His brain slowly turned into mush. Kuroko couldn't think clearly when he was being attacked like this. He was young, damn it, a teenager, of course he could only focus on that wonderful pleasant feeling when his body experienced it.

As Kagami released the kiss from his lips and moved to kiss his jaw and then his neck, Kuroko gasped lightly, before feeling Kagami's deft fingers work on the button and the zipper of his pants while his other hand was busy slipping under his sweater to caress his stomach and reach higher until it came across with his sensitive nipple.

"Ah!" Kuroko gasped again, louder this time, in pleasant surprise at the way Kagami's thumb and index finger pinched that responsive bud, pulled, nailed and played with it until it became erect. "Ah, ahn, Ka-Kagami-kun…!"

Kagami smirked slightly before kissing down at Kuroko's obviously bobbing Adam's apple, mouthing it and then going even further below to bite at the juncture where Kuroko's neck met his shoulder and sucked hard on that sensitive spot, sending another wave of pleasure through Kuroko's spine.

"Ahn!" Kuroko's body bucked, hand instinctively latching onto Kagami's head, fingers tangling between strands of his dual colored hair while his other hand clenched at Kagami's back, pulling him closer. His breaths became ragged and heavy as he felt all of the stimulations, his heart beating so hard and fast he thought it would burst out of his chest.

"Kuroko…" Kagami made a throaty whisper as he called Kuroko's name lowly, almost growling and it sounded so primal, full of need. Kuroko was so aroused at the feel of warm short shallow breaths near his sensitive ear before he felt Kagami's clever tongue lick the shell and nibble at his earlobe.

"Ka-Kagami-kun… Nnh…!" Kuroko wanted to touch too. He pulled at Kagami's clothes, trying to yank it off. Kagami chuckled, sounding amused at how impatient Kuroko was.

Kagami pulled back slightly and Kuroko was dazed out of his mind as the _Tiger_ made a show of slowly pulling off his black T-shirt, inch by inch revealing his Adonis-like body. Kuroko had to gulp down his own saliva which suddenly pooled in his mouth at the very sexy view.

Dear God, what had Kuroko done to deserve such amazing boyfriend like Kagami, really?

"This part of you seems very excited," Kagami said as he bent down to nuzzle Kuroko's still clothed lap. Kuroko blushed slightly as he also noticed how hard he had become.

"Pervert," Kuroko said, feeling rather annoyed that Kagami could stir him up so easily.

"Now, look who's talking?" Kagami grinned, proceeding to open his mouth and bite down at Kuroko's inner thigh under the layer of his pants. Kuroko had to suppress a gasp, not wanting to show how hot he felt. "I think this thing should be off so I can hear your cute voice more clearly," he continued before starting to pull off Kuroko's pants.

"Ah, w-wait, Kagami-kun, we just did it last night," Kuroko protested half-heartedly while holding onto his pants because seriously, Kagami could be such an insatiable beast sometimes.

Although Kagami was gentle with Kuroko most of the time, _of course_, still… it was a bad idea to do it on the couch the next morning.

"But I'm not yet satisfied… I can never get enough of you," Kagami voiced before surging forward to give another breath-taking kiss to Kuroko's lips. "Okay?" he smiled gently.

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko couldn't help but kiss him back eagerly, pulling the taller boy's body closer once again to make more contact, intending to give in since it wasn't like Kuroko didn't enjoy it.

Kagami always made Kuroko feel so good after all.

Kuroko could feel Kagami's adventurous hands working on his body again now and he almost spread his legs more, when he heard the ring tone of his cell-phone from his half off-half on pants that stranded on one of his knees.

"Huh?" Kuroko looked down at the dark blue pants. Kagami visibly twitched and growled as he seemed to hear it as well because he halted his ministration on Kuroko's body.

"Leave it," Kagami demanded, intending to resume their activity.

"But… what if it is important?" Kuroko began to push Kagami away to reach into his pants pocket. Kagami had to back off and sighed in annoyance, looking frustrated as Kuroko fished the cell phone out and glanced at the caller ID.

"Oh, it is Furihata-kun," Kuroko announced after recognizing the name and immediately opened the top of his cell-phone to receive the call. "Hello."

"Furihata?" Kagami made a disgruntled noise as Furihata greeted Kuroko back from the phone. But Kuroko could see from the corner of his eyes that Kagami was also interested in that phone call.

"_Hello, Kuroko?"_

"Yes, Furihata-kun, can I help you?" Kuroko asked before pushing the speaker button to let Kagami hear the conversation.

"_Ah, sorry for calling so suddenly, but I just want to ask if Kagami is with you. I tried to call his cell-phone, but he didn't answer,"_—Furihata sounded a little worried and Kuroko sighed slightly as he focused his blue eyes on Kagami who had a decency to look sheepish.

"Sorry Furihata, I left my cell-phone in my bedroom. I didn't hear the call," Kagami said rather loudly from his position so Furihata could hear his voice.

"_Is that Kagami?"_—Furihata inquired, sounding surprised.

"Yes, I put you on speaker, Furihata-kun," Kuroko said, smiling slightly while shaking his head, feeling rather exasperated.

"_Oh, I see… so Kagami is there with you, alright. Thank god,"_—Now Furihata sounded relieved.

"Sorry for worrying you. Are you okay there, Furihata? How about Akashi?" Kagami asked again soon after.

"_I'm fine. Ah, Akashi-kun caught a fever and passed out last night, but he was awake and better this morning. Oh, and his eyes are better as well. He can see now,"_—Furihata reported.

"Akashi-kun caught a fever? Passed out? Wait, what was wrong with his eyes? What do you mean he can see _now_?" Kuroko wasn't aware that Akashi's condition was so bad the night before because Kagami didn't want to explain and kept distracting him with his pleasurable ministration while Kuroko was trying to give him first aid.

"_Huh, Kagami didn't tell you?"_

Kagami flinched at that and looked another way, but he wasn't quick enough as Kuroko was sure Kagami caught his narrowed gaze on his ruby colored eyes.

Kuroko intended to reprimand his boyfriend for keeping the details out, but he was quickly distracted again by Furihata's further clarification from the phone.

"_Akashi-kun said he might have been drugged and he couldn't see last night because he couldn't open his eyes. But it's okay now. Also, his fever has gone down even though his body seems still rather weak. Oh, and he wants to speak with you, Kuroko. Ah, along with all the GoM… and Kagami too... eh?"—_Furihata suddenly paused.

There was some kind of noise in the background that Kuroko couldn't make out, but he was sure he kind of heard Akashi's voice as well.

"Furihata-kun?" Kuroko called since the brunet hadn't yet continued his words.

"_Ah, sorry, yeah, can you come to my house? I will give you directions. Take all the GoM, Kagami, Himuro-san and Takao-kun with you. Akashi-kun wants to meet all of you,"—_Furihata spoke again a moment later.

"Sounds good to me," Kagami shrugged, still not meeting Kuroko's stare, but Kuroko wanted to talk to Akashi as well because he was quite worried about him.

"Alright, we will be there in an hour. Where do you live?" Kuroko immediately gathered the information and took notes before he thanked him and hung up.

"Shall we call the others?" Kagami suggested and Kuroko nodded quietly. "After we finish, right?" he grinned and then pounced on Kuroko again without warning, surprising Kuroko very much.

#

A few minutes after their rather exhausting activity, Kagami promptly retrieved his cell-phone from his room and called Himuro and Takao, while Kuroko called Momoi so the pink haired girl could forward all the calls to the other GoM members except Akashi.

Thirty minutes later, everyone was already present in Kagami's apartment… with some unexpected extras, of course.

"Include us too! We're here to bring Akashi back to Rakuzan, damn it!" Hayama protested childishly.

"Sorry, we kinda met them on the way and they insisted to tag along," was Takao's sheepish explanation as Kuroko stared blankly at the three Rakuzan's players.

"We deserve an explanation at least, and I second Hayama's opinion," Mibuchi spoke soon after, looking cool and ready for any confrontation if it was necessary.

"Besides, Akashi is important to us. He's our friend too, ya know," Nebuya added with a slight frown on his face.

Kuroko let out a long sigh. "I think Akashi-kun will want to see you guys as well. Just… let us talk to him first," he requested, not minding if they came along.

Thus, looking at how polite Kuroko had asked, the three Rakuzan's seniors seemed to agree with the term. They even didn't pry for any further explanation from Kuroko or Kagami, just silently following the party to Furihata's house.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Furihata didn't expect that there would be so many guests coming to his house just an hour after he made the call per Akashi's request. Surely, he had counted on some people like the GoM and the people that were invited, but he didn't anticipate the arrival of the three extras, Rakuzan's Crownless Kings, at all.

"Uh… welcome. But I'm not sure if my bedroom will fit all of you there," Furihata said, beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks.

"Sorry for suddenly intruding, but we really need to speak to Sei-chan," Mibuchi said, looking grave and concerned.

"Sei-chan?" Furihata gaped. Did this guy just call that Akashi Seijuurou as Sei-chan? And Akashi let him?

"Ahaha, surprised? Akashi is indeed scary sometimes, but he actually doesn't care how we call him as long as we play our best," Hayama grinned slightly at that.

"We will take turns to visit him. I heard he is recuperating from sickness?" Nebuya asked.

"Err… yes. But Akashi-kun wants to speak with the GoM first," Furihata said while turning to face Kuroko, Aomine, Kise, Midorima, Murasakibara and Momoi. "I'll bring you to my room. As for the others," he glanced at Kagami, Takao and Himuro, "Please wait in the living room," he continued.

"Okay," they all nodded and Furihata led them in. He brought all of them to his living room and let them sit first before asking the GoM to follow him to his room to meet Akashi at the second floor.

"I'll leave you to speak in private," Furihata said, once again going downstairs to tend to his other guests as Kuroko opened the door to Furihata's room for them to enter.

Furihata smiled as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Akashi heard the doorknob click and turned slightly to face the door. Then it opened slowly to reveal his old friends, his ex-teammates from the Generation of Miracles, entering the room.

"Akashi-kun," Kuroko was the first to greet while bowing slightly before moving away from the door so the others could also enter.

"A-Akashi-chi!" Kise came in next looking very worried.

"Akashi," Midorima followed, looking slightly tense as he greeted, a strange strawberry plushie nested on one of his hands.

"Akashi," then Aomine entered next, looking slightly bored, but Akashi's eyes could detect a hint of worry in his midnight colored eyes.

"Aka-chin," Murasakibara trailed soon after, face looking blank, but his gaze was boring into Akashi's mismatched eyes gravely.

"Sei-kun…" and now it was Momoi, looking very glum and concerned as she entered the room as well.

"You are here," Akashi greeted back slowly, gesturing them all to come closer. "Sit here, everyone. I'd like to say something first before making some cheap excuses of why I did what I did all this time."

They looked at each other for a moment before slowly approaching Akashi and sitting on the edge of the bed while Momoi took a seat on the chair near the bed.

"Akashi-chi, are you alright?" Kise didn't seem to be able to contain his worry any longer, though, and spoke first. The others were about to tell him to shut up, but Akashi beat them to it by answering.

"I've been better," Akashi smiled slightly before looking at Kise's face and then at the others. "I… only want to say that I was sorry for causing all of you pain."

Altogether they widened their eyes at that, looking very shocked. Even Kuroko looked surprised. Murasakibara actually stopped eating his snack for once. Kise gaped. Aomine dropped his jaw and Midorima gawked.

Akashi chuckled slightly seeing their reactions. "Though, I can't exactly be sorry for my actions. I always think it was necessary to keep you guys on a tight leash, since you… _we_… are unordinary people."

Akashi saw them twitch slightly, the tell-tale of protest ready on the tip of their tongue, but he hadn't finished yet, so he spoke again before they could. "Although, I wish I could see that sometimes my actions have hurt you in another way that others could. I'd never been taught to consider people's feelings before, so I disregarded yours as well. For that…I am sorry," he continued, looking down.

The room was quiet after the confession. Nobody spoke. Akashi knew they were probably angry with him, and he didn't expect any forgiveness, but, "We know." That simple expression along with Kuroko's flat tone surprised Akashi.

He looked up and met Kuroko's dull understanding gaze. "What you did… you did to protect us, to make us better people. We know all of that," the teal haired boy continued, a soft small smile adorning his face.

"Akashi-chi is always scary, but you bring the best out of us," Kise grinned, looking genuinely happy.

"As much as I hate the fact, you're indeed a better player in basketball or in anything else for that matter, and I got a lot of valuable lessons from you," Midorima said, blushing slightly, refusing to meet Akashi's eyes.

"And you nag us like a mother, but it proved that you care about us as well," Aomine scratched his head, looking annoyed and embarrassed.

"Aka-chin is a great person. I like Aka-chin," and Murasakibara followed, smiling lazily.

"A lot of things happened, and I can't say that I agree with your ideas sometimes, but I know you only want the best for us," even Momoi spoke in understanding, looking at Akashi gently.

Akashi was momentarily stunned at their reaction. He had expected and was ready to be hated for what he had done, for taking away their freedom. He always treated them like some kind of possession, and yet… why did they speak like he actually cared for them?

Well, Akashi did care for them, but he just realized it yesterday. How could they possibly know something he just figured out?

"Why do you look so surprised, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked, his baby blue eyes glinting slightly in amusement. "You shouldn't have underestimated our tenacity to follow you. Have more faith in us. You care about us, but you never seem to think that we care about you just as much. We are friends, aren't we?"

_Ah…._

"Even though, we aren't on the same team?" Akashi couldn't help asking.

"It doesn't have anything to do with that. We might be opponents on the court, but off the court, all of us are friends," Kise piped in cheerily.

"It couldn't be helped if you insist," Midorima pushed his glasses in place.

"What are you being tsundere for, Midorima?" Aomine laughed at that.

"Shut up, Aomine!" Midorima flushed, glaring at Aomine before they started to bicker.

"Aka-chin, do you want some chocolates?" Murasakibara offered Akashi candies and Akashi couldn't help softening his expression at the question.

"Yes, thank you," Akashi said, accepting them on his hands. He looked at the candies and the liveliness around him, suddenly feeling enlightened.

_This is it… this is what I desire most._

"Mukkun, you eat too many sweets," Momoi scolded as Murasakibara popped some of the candies into his mouth.

"But they are all delicious. I want to enjoy them as much as possible. Aka-chin too, right?" Murasakibara smiled blissfully like a child afterwards.

_This sweet, warm atmosphere… surrounded by my friends… only this I'll never give up._

"Akashi, this is your lucky item for today. Here," then Midorima offered the strawberry plushie and put it on Akashi's lap, to Akashi's surprise.

"Akashi-kun, do you want me to open the candy for you?" Kuroko offered, reaching out to the candy on Akashi's palm.

"Murasakibara-chi! Give me some too!" Kise hugged Murasakibara's neck from behind, bothering the taller teen to give him some treats.

"Oi, Kise! Stop being so touchy feely with another guy! Damn it!" Aomine yelled, flushing in obvious rage.

"What, Aomine-chi, jealous?" Kise smirked teasingly at the dark-skinned boy, but there was fond affection between their light banter that Akashi immediately caught up.

"Those two… are they together?" Akashi couldn't help asking no one in particular as he accepted the opened candy from Kuroko and ate it, but he was bound to get an answer at that point anyway.

"They aren't subtle at all, are they?" Momoi shook her head, sweat dropping. Kuroko actually smiled rather amusedly as he watched the couple.

_I see… so that's why the other day they seemed so…—_Akashi chuckled at that thought.

So this was how it felt to see in others' perspective. Akashi could immediately notice that there was something special in them. It was close to the way he could see that there was something between Kuroko and Kagami, but he just didn't want to acknowledge it. The way Takao covered for Midorima and the way Atsushi looked at Himuro as well….

_Affection, love…_ but it was different from the care and feelings Akashi had for his GoM friends. Well, the feeling to protect was fundamentally the same, but the depth of the 'love' and 'affection' in their feelings for each of their partners was surely different.

"I'd like to speak with Kagami Taiga and the other two as well," Akashi said then, intending to clarify some things.

Kuroko, Kise, Midorima, Aomine and Momoi blinked once and Murasakibara tilted his head aside before they looked at each other and smiled again. "Sure. We'll get them for you," Kuroko said, standing up.

The others immediately followed as they got out of the room before closing the door. Akashi sighed and reached out to touch his golden left eye. "I'm glad… that I acquired this eye…" he whispered lightly.

_Because with this eye, I can…—_Akashi smiled gently at the thought.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Kagami looked up from the cup of warm tea in his palms, courtesy of Furihata's hospitality, when Kuroko's party entered the living room. The teal haired boy looked straight at Kagami and he immediately realized that it was a cue for him, Takao and Himuro to go upstairs, as it was their turn to talk to Akashi.

"Did he throw a tantrum?" Kagami asked, expecting that would be the case, but Kuroko shook his head to his surprise.

"He is trying to make amends," Kuroko smiled nicely and Kagami raised his eyebrows at that.

"Good. Let's assure him even more to ease his worry," Takao grinned with an excited look and Himuro just smiled encouragingly as they moved upstairs to Furihata's room.

It was the second door at the stairs left, Kuroko had informed, and Kagami opened the door while greeting. "We're coming in."

Akashi was seated on the bed, looking at Kagami, Takao and Himuro with expectant eyes. "We met again," he said.

"Yeah. You okay there?" Kagami couldn't help asking because somehow, Akashi looked slightly fragile sitting alone on the bed like that. Of course that might just be an illusion because Akashi always appeared so big despite his smaller size. Kagami had known how strong he was on the court after all. Takao and Himuro would have thought the same thing.

"I feel rather insulted that you are worried about me," Akashi said mockingly.

"For God's sake, you… can you stop being unpleasant just once?" Kagami protested indignantly.

"Well, but I quite appreciate your help yesterday, Kagami Taiga. I owe you one," Akashi said, his expression softening slightly.

Kagami felt awkward suddenly, getting slightly embarrassed that Akashi actually thanked him. "Don't mention it," he sat down on the chair then scratched his cheeks slightly before Akashi shifted his gaze to Takao and Himuro who slowly approached him before getting comfortable standing beside the bed.

"Yah, Akashi Seijuurou-kun, good day," Takao greeted the red haired captain with a cheery smile. "We don't know the details, but we've been informed of the situation enough to know that you experienced quite a life-altering event. I hope we can somehow be a help for you to adjust," the owner of Hawk Eyes continued pleasantly.

"… Was that supposed to be sarcasm?" Akashi asked, blinking owlishly.

"Eh?" Himuro glanced at Takao who immediately looked rather hangdog, though still adorning his grin.

"Oops, that obvious?" the raven asked, scratching his nose, looking nervous.

"Takao-kun," Himuro frowned at him disapprovingly. Kagami snorted slightly, finding it rather funny that Takao actually disliked the ex-GoM Captain to that extent.

"Well, sorry for being rather bitter. I meant, on top of defeating me and our team, Akashi still holds so much over our ace's life. Excuse me for being jealous because I love Shin-chan very much, ya know. I won't lose to you if it's about that. I don't care if you think you can possess Shin-chan. His loyalty might be yours, but his heart is mine," Takao huffed, narrowing his eyes at Akashi who only stared stoically at him.

They were staring at each other for a few moments. It was a tense silence and Kagami found it rather suffocating in the room. However, neither Takao nor Akashi seemed willing to back down.

Akashi scrutinized Takao, seeming to look for something in his expression and eyes, while not even once did Takao severe their connection, continuously staring back valiantly with his sharp, dark grey colored Hawk Eyes.

Then Akashi sighed, his expression softened once more into a gentle smile, which surprised Kagami and the others. "I believe you," he said, looking rather satisfied with what he saw.

"What?" Takao could only blink once, seeming dumbfounded.

"I don't dislike your honesty, Kazunari," Akashi said and Takao sputtered in surprise.

"Suddenly we're in the first name basis?!" the Shuutoku point guard gaped. "Not even Shin-chan calls me that yet!"

Akashi seemed to ignore Takao's exclamation as he continued. "-and I have seen how serious your feeling is for Shintarou. Although I believe Shintarou can do better (_"Hey!"—Takao complained again in the background)_, but if he's happy with you then…," now he paused, taking a deep breath before exhaling slowly. "Just… promise me that you will take care of him," he continued, gripping at the edge of the blanket, not looking at Takao anymore.

Takao went quiet when he saw Akashi's look. Kagami was also astonished and Himuro must have felt stunned as well because Akashi looked like he still couldn't let go.

"Akashi-kun…" Himuro let out a shaky breath.

"Tetsuya as well… I know how deep Taiga's feeling for him. Also Atsushi, the way Tatsuya takes care of him shows me how much you love him, but still… they are _my_ family. I really… want to protect them from harm that other people _outside_ our circle can do to them. But feelings like love and affection… are the only things I can't protect them from because it's already inside them." Akashi started.

"I… don't possess those kinds of feelings. The way I was raised forced me to abandon such things because I know those emotions can be used against me, and it will hurt very much when those kinds of feelings are involved despite not reciprocated. Because the one who can hurt you most is the one you love. I never want them to experience that kind of pain. I want to look out for them always. I want them to stay pure, and yet… once those feelings grow… they will only keep growing until something forces it to die in the most gruesome horrible way." He looked pained for a moment, closing his eyes slightly before opening it again.

"I actually never wanted us to be scattered around in different high schools in the first place… because the moment it happened, there would be restrictions for me to look out for them. They would grow more apart from me in the place I couldn't see… I never wanted that. However, there was always factor x that I couldn't predict, ruining the plan that I set up for us. I guess, that's how the world works. I never considered that Tetsuya would be burdened very much in his role as the shadow of our team. I took a blind eye to the longing look Ryouta had for Tetsuya and Daiki's closeness. I disregarded Daiki's pained feeling for being too strong on the court and I… never once considered Atsushi's feeling when he received orders from me.

"Of course, when all of that got too overwhelming for them to bear, they cracked. I desperately tried to bind them together. I did everything I could, including taking a chance in intricacy, gripping them so tight in a leash called guilt. I thought it would make them stay together, but… Tetsuya found out about it. He didn't say anything, but he began to distance himself from us after the incident, and that last match in our summer championship in middle school triggered his resignation from Teikou's basketball team. After that… everything seemed to naturally fall apart before my eyes.

"I began to question my own decision then even though I didn't change the way I treated them and made a vow so at least they would still have something to connect themselves to me as a last resort before we parted ways. I still want to protect them even though I know it would be hard," Akashi finished, looking empty after his speech.

"But, possessing them isn't the right way to protect them. They aren't things," Himuro said afterwards.

"Yes, I just realized that yesterday. The more I tried to bind them, the more they tried to run away," Akashi chuckled humorlessly at that.

"Even without possessing them, you still have connection to them as friends," Kagami added.

Akashi showed a small smile after hearing it. "You're right," he agreed.

"No matter how disturbing your way of protecting them, they know exactly why you did it. It's annoying, but they really do love you, you know," Takao huffed, sounding annoyed.

"I'm aware," Akashi brought his hand to cover his face. He probably tried to hide his blush, but no one said anything to that as they only looked at each other and grinned.

_How long has Akashi kept all of that to himself? He must be quite relieved for being able to get them off his chest_—Kagami couldn't help thinking, feeling reassured as well.

Then there was a sound from the door as it was being opened, earning Kagami and the others' attention. Even Akashi looked quickly upward in reaction.

"Aomine?" Kagami was surprised when the Touou's ace made his entrance, looking straight at Akashi ruthlessly with his midnight blue eyes.

"Daiki…?" Akashi looked surprised as well seeing the taller teen. Takao and Himuro looked at each other with questioning looks as Aomine closed the door and approached Akashi slowly.

"So… this eye… is actually one of your ways to glue us together, huh?" Aomine asked looking somber and solemn as he reached out to Akashi's left eye.

"Oi, Aomine," Kagami was rather concerned that his rival would suddenly become violent.

"Indeed," but Akashi immediately replied without the slightest doubt in his look or voice, halting Aomine's movement. "And I wasn't sorry for that, because I believed I did the right thing," he said.

_Oi, oi, what's good in getting Aomine angry?_—Kagami was alarmed, but he just blinked when Aomine chuckled unexpectedly.

"Ha… you really are a cruel man," Aomine retracted his hand to cover his face now. That gesture really confused Kagami, at least until the tanned male spoke again. "I'm sorry… for cornering you to do such a thing… just because you were so worried about us," he whispered lowly to Akashi, and Kagami was officially baffled at his actions.

_What in the world is happening?_—Seriously, Kagami was perplexed. Aomine looked very emotional, unlike the usual him. And did he really just apologize to Akashi in front of Kagami and the others?

Akashi was silent for a moment before he reached out to put his palm on Aomine's head, ruffling his hair tenderly. "It wasn't your fault, you know. You have nothing to be sorry about. I made my choice in desiring this eye. It has nothing to do with you," he said slowly, almost tonelessly, but Aomine barked a sour laugh at that.

"Liar. You acquired that Emperor Eye to protect us as well, because with that eye, you can immediately see if some people want to hurt us. Don't think I will be so ignorant all the time. Once is enough… being the cause of that incident hit really hard, you know. After that, every time I see your eyes, I'm always reminded by that mistake. It gets on my nerves, that eye! I caused this… you… and Satsuki… I…"

"Daiki," Akashi's stern tone almost made Aomine jump, but before he could, Akashi had immediately seized Aomine's cheeks with the both of his palms, fixing the taller eyesight on him, straight to his mismatched colored eyes. Aomine's breath hitched slightly as he was captured by Akashi's intense gaze. "You really… are a troublesome child," he said then, putting his forehead on Aomine's.

"W-what?" Aomine sounded and looked almost bewildered at the turn of events.

"With a personality like yours, you're always bound to get into trouble. Don't underestimate my resolution when I decided you were going to be my golden boy. I'm prepared to get you out of every trouble after a deserved punishment, of course, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm ready. Just awhile ago you did something dangerous, didn't you? I know about what you did to Haizaki after Kaijou and Fukuda Sōgo's match," Akashi said and Aomine cringed at that.

"B-but that was Haizaki's fault! He—!"

"I know. He hurt Ryouta in the game intentionally and I heard he was about to sabotage him after that, but it was still dangerous hitting Haizaki in the face. What if you were suspended afterwards?" Akashi narrowed his eyes.

"I wouldn't care. He tried to hurt someone I love. I would even repeat it if I got a second chance," Aomine narrowed his eyes back stubbornly.

Akashi sighed deeply at the other's response before a small exasperated smile flickered on his lips. "You are always like that, Daiki. But really, stop worrying me so much. You really would have been banned from official matches if Haizaki had opened his mouth. Well, I made sure he would _never_ breathe a word about that incident to anyone else _ever_, though, so I guess it should be fine," the red head's smile turned into an evil sadistic smirk. Aomine and the others visibly paled at the devious expression.

_What the hell did he do?!_—Kagami's mind couldn't help screeching. He almost forgot that they were dealing with _that_ Akashi Seijuurou, the devil incarnation.

Himuro, Takao and Aomine's face also paled considerably at the creepy smirk Akashi showed them before the red head glanced at Kagami's party and his smirk turned rather teasing. "A little bit this or that… you _really _don't want to know," he said, as if he could read Kagami's mind.

Kagami could only squawk at that, feeling rather horrified. "Quit that disturbing habit of yours! Stop getting inside my head!"

"It's simply because you are so easy to read, Kagami Taiga," Akashi stated with an amused look.

"Shut up!" Kagami was very annoyed that Akashi could push his buttons so easily, and they hadn't even known each other for long yet. Takao and Himuro stepped back a little at that, seeming not wanting to intervene with the scene.

"Akashi…" Aomine looked astounded now. He realized that Akashi had _somehow_ helped him out of trouble once again.

Akashi glanced back at Aomine who was still wordlessly looking at him rather thunderstruck. The Teikou basketball club ex-captain smiled again. "Don't worry, Daiki. I have your back. We are _friends_, right?" he was trying to get used it now, that foreign term.

"And friends have each other's back unconditionally," Himuro nodded in approval.

"Friends also try to reprimand their friends if they makes mistake," Takao added, looking sure and certain.

"And Aomine is being lazy with his practices," Kagami grinned.

"S-shut up!" Aomine retaliated immediately, whipping his head to face Kagami in total annoyance.

"Daiki… are you neglecting your basketball practices again?" Akashi looked positively scary when he glared at Aomine's back. The tanned ace visibly shuddered as if he could feel it.

"He is. Momoi has so much trouble dealing with him," Kagami continued, widening his grin even more.

"Oi!" Aomine yelled frantically, seeming to be extra scared at that moment.

"Daiki should be punished more severely," Akashi smiled sweetly, but the dark aura around him showed the others the exact nature of his feelings.

"Oh God, spare me already!" Aomine groaned loudly and Kagami and the others had to laugh at that.

"Seriously, Daiki, training is important to maintain your shape and performance. You will get injured if you are slacking," Akashi reminded him again, looking serious.

Aomine sighed deeply, scratching his neck. "Yes, okay already," he responded lazily.

Akashi raised his eyebrows. "Daiki, one 'yes' is enough," he scolded.

"Ugh, yes, _Mom_," Aomine repeated, looking aggravated.

"Pfft—!" Kagami and Takao couldn't help the bubble of laughter escaping them while Himuro just chuckled, finding that scene totally funny.

Akashi blinked once before he huffed out a small laugh as well. "It's been awhile since I was called like that…" he shook his head, looking totally exasperated.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

It was half an hour later when Akashi deemed that he had enough foolish chatter with the boyfriends of his old friends and started to make sure that he could entrust his precious GoM's safety to them.

"You love Tetsuya, right, Taiga?"

Kagami sputtered at the sudden random question thrown by Akashi to him, completely looking caught off guard.

"W-what's with you, suddenly asking something private like that—?" Kagami stuttered, face red in total embarrassment.

"Just answer the question," Akashi was getting tired of Kagami's ridiculous reaction over small things.

Kagami huffed before looking another way. "It's obvious, right? I date him, you know. I wouldn't if I didn't love him," he muttered under his breath, sounding nervous and awkward.

"I also love Shin-chan very much!" Takao apparently heard the question as well and instantly responded to it with spirit, seeming totally sure and confident with his answer.

"It's bound to happen when Atsushi is such an adorable oversized child," Himuro chuckled.

"Dating Kise despite him being a guy without the boobs and the curves I love so much should have answered such a fundamental question," Aomine grinded his teeth as he spoke, his cheek flushing slightly even though everyone would miss such look since he masked it pretty well with his disgruntled expression.

"I see… then will you guys promise that you will always protect them?" Akashi asked again, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at their ridiculous way of answering the _easy_ question. It was a yes-no question after all, quite simple. He didn't see the need for them to make any excuse for that.

"Of course!" Kagami and Takao chorused.

"I don't think Atsushi needs protection except maybe from cavities and his own laziness generally," Himuro laughed lightly.

"There are a lot of things about Kise that needs protection. His name, his popularity, his feelings… and sometimes he needs protection from himself as well. I'm not confident enough to say that I can protect all of that, but I will make sure he doesn't push himself too hard only to please people that sometimes only take his kindness and effort for granted," Aomine said thoughtfully.

Akashi was pleased at their answers, especially Aomine's. He thought about it carefully. That was good. Kagami and Takao's resolution was clear in their certain tone as well, and even though Himuro sounded like joking, he had looked Akashi straight in the eyes as if telling him that he wouldn't lose Murasakibara no matter what.

Good. This way they would be completely safe….

"I will protect Kuroko as best as I can, but… only _if _he needs me to," Kagami suddenly spoke again, halting Akashi's thought.

"What?" Akashi frowned slightly.

"Well, Kuroko isn't a child. He's capable of taking care of himself. He's my significant other and my equal. Even though I will always be there for him, I don't think he wants to depend on me at all the times. He's my partner and he will want to support me in the same way I do him. We're in the same boat after all," Kagami grinned then, looking completely at ease.

"Ah, I understand that. Shin-chan will be dying of mortification before admitting that he needs me to survive," Takao laughed. "He's stubborn like that and I respect his pride, but if there's a time he needs me, I'll always be there by his side," he completed, looking totally happy.

"Ah, Atsushi is so indifferent and clueless sometimes. He tends to hurt other people's feelings without meaning to. That surely needs correction to prevent other people hurting him the same way. I will need your help on how to do that from now on, Akashi-kun," Himuro said, smiling sweetly at Akashi.

Akashi looked at them all and let out a long sigh.

"Well, we won't hurt them intentionally, but… humans' interactions and connections are complicated sometimes. We learn about each other by hurting and getting hurt as well. Even sometimes, loving them can hurt them," Aomine said with a small smile. Akashi couldn't help twitching slightly because he just rubbed a sore spot there.

Akashi was aware that his love sometimes hurt the GoM, so he understood, but Aomine didn't have to remind him so quickly just after he realized it, right?

"That includes you, Akashi. When you are in need for help, just ask. It isn't that difficult, right? You've done it before," Kagami spoke again and Akashi looked upward at the Seirin's ace in a slight surprise before he remembered that indeed, he had done it.

Akashi softened his expression once more and smiled. "Of course," he said, agreeing.

Of course… with such strong guys beside them, Akashi's precious friends… they would surely be safe and fine. Moreover, they were the ones his friends loved. If it was with them then…, Akashi could let his GoM go. He could let _himself_ be free from the responsibilities. They had become so big now. Each of them had chosen their respective paths and they would be responsible for their own choices.

But it didn't mean their connections would be severed because Akashi would be ready to catch them if they'd ever fall. He would be there if his friends needed him, just the same way as how his friends would be there if he needed them.

Everything will be okay. Akashi had their words and he could learn to trust them, the same way his friends trust them with their hearts….

**End of Part 9**

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, it's done! XD This series… Finally! Ah, but there will be an epilogue for the entire series, guys (because Aka/Furi and the other pairs need more scenes)! I actually wanted to put the epilogue here, but that would be too long and the epilog will be filled with humorous scenes anyway, so I guessed it would be okay to cut **Signal** here!

Eh? The Kaga/Kuro scene…? Um… that's because I was carried away. I meant, a story needs fan-service, right? Or it will be boring. It wasn't vital for plot (like the Aka/Furi scene), but I just wanted to write it, damn it. I'm frustrated for the lack of KagaKuro fics in this fandom! I hope I didn't offend anyone *lol*

So, what do you think? Tell me in review, ne?


	10. Signal: Epilog & OMAKE

**Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke isn't mine. Luna only plays with the characters~3  
**

**Warning: **_the usual, language, shounen ai/yaoi, AU, oh, and beware of the twist 2nd OMAKE~_**  
**

**Beta: **tora-chan83 (thank you very much for the help!)**  
**

**A/N: **Yah! Minna-san! Sorry for making you wait for so long for this update! This is the Epilog of **Signal** and **Finding GoM Matching Partner Series**! I hope you will enjoy this expanded epilog and OMAKES (yes, it's plural *grins*) to the very last detail! _Saa! Doozo yoroshiku!_

* * *

**Finding GoM Matching Partner **

**Signal: **_**Epilogue**_

* * *

Akashi was looking upward at the winter sky from where he stood in the middle of a city park at Ginza. It was a fine morning, albeit rather chilly, but it was okay since he was always strong against cold air. The sea of grey above his head poured the snowflakes slowly down to the earth, creating a beautiful sight.

Akashi chuckled lightly at himself for thinking so uncharacteristically like that. He had _never_ thought that he could find such a simple natural occurrence a pretty thing. Well, not when he was still trapped in the idealism of his closed perfect-like world. Before he could only taste the freedom from the shackles that had bound him and his entire life until recently, before he understood the true meaning of friendship and—

_Love…._

Akashi smiled lightly remembering the events that happened to him just a week ago, when he was still rather weak because of the drug and he had to stay over at Furihata's house…

_A knock on the door of Furihata's room brought Akashi, Kagami, Takao, Himuro and Aomine's attention away from each other. They turned to face it as someone opened the door and Furihata's head snuck in from the gap between the door and its frame._

"_Hey, is everything okay here?" Furihata asked with an attentive small smile plastered on his face._

"_Yeah, Furihata. We're good," Kagami answered with an easy grin._

"_What's wrong, Kouki?" Akashi asked as the smaller brunet seemed to hesitate at the doorstep._

"_Um… there are more people who want to see Akashi-kun, but if you don't feel like it, I can tell them to come back later," Furihata informed._

"_More people?" Akashi was puzzled since he didn't recall inviting anyone but the GoM and their respective partners._

_However, before Furihata could tell him who they were, the door was unexpectedly slammed open wider as some people rushed inside the room while shouting._

"_Sei-chan!"_

"_Akashi!"_

_Akashi widened his eyes slightly seeing his Crownless Kings suddenly appear there, looking very much concerned and agitated for some reasons. "You guys… why are you here?"_

_They immediately made a face as if Akashi had grown a second head. "What do you mean why we are here? Is that a serious question?" Mibuchi was visibly distraught._

"_Akashi, we are worried about you," Hayama said, kneeling beside the bed and looking at Akashi in the eye, expression grave and somber, unlike the usually energetic and cheery Hayama. _

"_Coach suddenly announced that you might not come back to Rakuzan next spring. Everyone was in shock, you know. And they all asked questions. _We_ asked questions. Why? It's not true, right?" Nebuya frowned deeply, clenching his fists slightly._

_Akashi was silent for a moment while spotting from the corner of his eyes that Kagami, Aomine, Takao and Himuro, along with Furihata discreetly walked out of the room to give him, _them_, some sort of privacy._

_The door closed quietly as Akashi sighed, grateful that Furihata and the others were considerate enough. He looked upward slowly again to Hayama a moment later. "I did send the two-week notice to coach," he confessed, and the three boys near him paled slightly. He could see the tell tale of protest bubbling up in their expressions and Mibuchi seemed about to voice it out when Akashi beat him to it._

"_But it's not my intention to leave Rakuzan." _

_That stopped the dark haired teen. Instead, he looked confused now, as well as Hayama and Nebuya._

"_Are you guys aware of my situation?" Akashi asked a few seconds later and they nodded slightly._

"_We know bits and pieces… about your family circumstances, but we haven't yet heard the details of what actually happened that caused you to transfer," Mibuchi said, sounding calmer than before, but he still looked anxious._

"_Akashi… can't we do anything to help?" Hayama asked, looking helpless. "Are we really that useless to you as friends… teammates, that you can't even rely on us?" _

_Akashi didn't change his expression, but inside, he flinched. Indeed, he didn't consider them as that, _friends_, until now, but seeing them like this… concerned and seriously worried about him, Akashi guessed that he had made another mistake._

"_Akashi?" Nebuya called him and the red head closed his eyes, trying his hardest to hold down his pride to do the right thing, as much as he resented this. Rome wasn't built in one day. Of course Akashi would still feel very reluctant to do this. But he needed to do it. He had to if he wanted to change, to be a better individual, a better person._

_To be fully human with all of their imperfections…. _

_Akashi inhaled deeply and paced his breathing to calm down, to prepare himself to do something he wouldn't have thought to do in million years if his friends hadn't pounded some senses into him. He repeated the maneuver a few times, before being sure enough to say "Is it too late if I want to ask for your help?" _

_His friends didn't seem to expect that at all. They went rigidly silent with stunned looks on their faces. Akashi felt rather self-conscious when he was gawked at so blatantly like that. They didn't even try to be discreet with their expressions of wonder about what just happened._

_Akashi felt that he had slipped, doing something so aberrantly like this, and was about to take back what he said when Hayama suddenly surged forward and gave him a bone-crushing hug, surprising him so much that he actually almost yelped._

"_Kotarou?"_

"_Of course it's not too late! You can ask anything! Anything at all!" Hayama tightened his embrace and Akashi was slightly bewildered at the sudden action. Moreover, Mibuchi gave the gentlest smile Akashi had ever seen from him and Nebuya grinned so widely that his cheeks almost looked like they were splitting._

"_Everyone…" Akashi reached up slightly to touch Hayama's back, still feeling rather surreal with the warmth he could feel from him. Even though it was different from the warmth he felt from Furihata, it was exactly the same warmth he could always feel from his GoM friends._

"_Akashi belongs with us in Rakuzan," Mibuchi said while sitting on the bed, reaching out and draping his arms around Akashi and Hayama._

"_We will do anything in our capabilities so you can come back to Rakuzan with us." Nebuya also moved closer and looked at Akashi's eyes surely, his dark caramel colored eyes reassuring, and Akashi instantly knew that he had done the right thing._

_Akashi could trust these people as well, because they were…_

"_We're friends; that's why! And we want to be with you," they said and Akashi could feel that they were sincere, honest… and serious with every word they uttered. _

_The ex-GOM captain knew it was ridiculous because no one could guarantee that, and he also didn't exactly use his Eye to see whether they were lying or not, but he just could feel it, that their words were true._

_Akashi smiled gently then. "I'd like to stay in Rakuzan too…"_

Akashi's smile widened slightly as he felt another gush of warmth inside his chest after remembering that time. He recollected how they started to discuss what to do to cancel the transfer. Luckily, they didn't have to do anything at all because Seiji, his father, promised to immediately fix that for him, saying to the destination school that the transfer was a mistake and the paper works were lost or something, so the decision could be annulled.

_Father can be cunning and devious too once in awhile_—Akashi couldn't help smirking as he recalled how frantic Seiji was when he called Akashi at the evening, when Akashi was still staying at Furihata's residence.

Seiji said he had heard everything from Setsuna. After learning the details from Akashi himself regarding the matter, he also promised that he and Kurenai would take care of Soujirou the next day.

Well, from the rumors a few days later, Akashi knew that Kurenai was furious about what happened, and if Seiji didn't put Soujirou into safety, she would probably have murdered him or something, so Seiji admitted Soujirou into a psychiatric ward at the Tokyo Central Hospital before moving him to a nut-house somewhere away from Kurenai.

Akashi had visited Soujirou the day before yesterday, and no, Akashi hadn't come home to the Akashi Family's main house yet despite Kurenai's wish. Seiji somehow had made sure she didn't know where Akashi stayed after he recuperated in Furihata's home, which was actually at Kagami's apartment.

Akashi lowered his gaze as he recollected the events when he was visiting Soujirou in the nut-house.

_Akashi stoically looked at Soujirou who was smiling from his comfortable looking plush seat. "Good to see you here, Sei-nii," the younger greeted, but Akashi didn't say anything back. He _didn't _want to say anything. He merely raised his eyebrows slightly. _

_Soujirou chuckled at his minimal response. "I know you probably want to say 'I told you so', but you can save your breath because this isn't over," he continued, looking upward at Akashi easily. "My position as your right hand man is still valid. Not even mother can revoke me from that role," he sounded perfectly confident with everything he said, but Akashi knew better._

"_Delusion won't get you anywhere, Soujirou," Akashi said frostily. "Get a life. I'm tired of you. You aren't my shadow. You don't have to act with that mindset anymore. You have your own life to live. Go for it."_

_Soujirou looked especially shocked by what Akashi said, but then his expression softened slightly before he started laughing as if he had lost his mind. "Oh, Sei-nii, you are so funny," he shook his head, seeming to have difficulty toning down his laughter. "You forgot, didn't you? I don't have a life without you in it. I have no purpose in living if you're not around. Is this how you want to get rid of me? By abandoning your role as an heir, are you abandoning me?" he looked at Akashi again, smirking acrimoniously._

_Akashi was silent for almost ten seconds (yes, he's counting), before he reached out to put his hand on Soujirou's cheek. "You're wrong. I will succeed the family, but I don't need you as my right hand man," he inanely stroked the skin under his palm as Soujirou widened his eyes slightly. "You are my little brother, so you should act like one."_

_There was a pregnant silence stretching for almost two minutes after that before Soujirou put his hand on top of Akashi's, his eyes glassed, years of unshed tears beginning to gather below his eyelids._

_Akashi sighed slightly as he saw the younger slowly close his eyes and nuzzle his palm, his tears dripping one by one like a broken dam. He instantaneously knew he had made the right choice. "Mother won't interfere with our lives anymore. You don't need to please me or her to be recognized as one of Akashi's."_

_Akashi could feel Soujirou tighten his hold on his hand as he started to sob faintly and Akashi alleviated his expression as he reached out his other hand to ruffle the slightly taller boy's hair for good measure._

Akashi knew Soujirou needed to stay longer in that place for treatment over his 'ideas' of the perfect, strongest family and ideal world, but he'd like to think that he already freed Soujirou from their mother's shackles that imprisoned him to all the Akashi Family's doctrines.

As for Akashi's mother… there was rumor that Kurenai was busy hunting down Soujirou's loyal servants and making their lives miserable.

Akashi chuckled. His mother could be childish too sometimes. He couldn't help feeling flattered of how much he was loved, regardless of his wish that she would control her possessiveness a little bit more. Too bad Akashi didn't get to know much of the details of her hunt (even though he really wanted to see those insolents squirm as well) since Seiji had set some ground rules that forced Kurenai to stay out of Akashi's sight until everything was settled down.

Akashi was actually wondering how Seiji did that… forcing Kurenai to back off. Well, wondering without knowing was never in Akashi's agenda, so he asked the closest person that knew about it outside the family.

"_It was an ultimatum, that Seiji-san delivered to Kurenai. 'Stop interfering with my children's lives or I'll leave with them,' he said. Kurenai was pretty shaken up because she loves him more than she thought she did and she can't afford to lose him and her children at the same time. She is a rationalist and a perfectionist, so she backed off for the time being, or something similar to the past might happen again," Setsuna explained._

"_You mean when you decided to leave," Akashi nodded somberly and Setsuna smiled rather forlornly at that._

"_I hate to be bound by rules and my father put chains on me, so I retaliated and ran away. Kurenai helped me because she wanted to have the Akashi Family for herself. However, she also regarded me as a part of her Akashi Family, so the night I ran away, she swore that she would get me back in again after she possessed everything else," Setsuna chuckled now. "She thought I didn't love her anymore after leaving… and Taira- ah, he's my husband by the way, is seen as her enemy because he took me away from her, so… I just don't want to see her again because she will do something bad to him."_

"_You don't know that," Akashi raised his eyebrows._

"_Oh, I know. Trust me. I know Kurenai the best. What she wants, she gets it by any means necessary. She's just like that, beyond saving," Setsuna chuckled again, sounding amused._

"_You seem 'okay' with that," Akashi was curious because there was no resentment in Setsuna's tone. It was weird because he thought Setsuna would at least hate Kurenai a little because of her selfish trait._

"_Well, that's why she's my younger sister. I mean… I love her despite all of that. She's not always so hateful, you know? She can be cute too sometimes," Setsuna shrugged, before grinning easily, apparently feeling nostalgic. "She just takes the Akashi Family's doctrine too far and too long under our father's order, so… just like you before all of this, Seijuurou, she doesn't know how to love normally except possessing them completely," she explained, looking rather poignant._

"_How come you are so different from her?" Akashi asked strangely. Setsuna's existence and personality were like an anomaly in the Akashi Family after all. It was honestly intriguing._

"_Hmm… maybe because I've had Taira since I was a kid. He was the only person in the family who dared enough to scold me when I did something wrong or selfish in the commoners' eyes," Setsuna said, smiling fondly as she seemed to reminiscence the past events._

"_I thought he was supposed to be your bodyguard. Was he allowed do that, scold you?" Akashi raised his eyebrows again in wonder. Normally, Akashi would have that Taira guy's head if he dared to question his decision despite only being an SP._

"_Taira was not only my bodyguard, but also like my caretaker. Mother passed away early and father was too caught up in his ambition to make the Akashi Family even bigger than it already had, so… he didn't have much time to bond with us and only shoved the family principles down our throats via special educations and whatever, you know the gist. Kurenai did the same things to you and Soujirou, right?" Setsuna looked apologetic as she gazed at Akashi and the younger teen could only sigh at that._

"_So it _is_ a family tradition after all… hiding the existence of one brother or sister from the other," Akashi mumbled quietly, feeling rather annoyed at the information. If he succeeded the family name, that was the first tradition he would wipe off._

"_Well, that didn't happen to Kurenai and me. I guess it's because we're twins. We just… realized each other's existence from birth. But since our caretakers were different… the way we were brought up was different as well," Setsuna shrugged, looking carefree. _

"_Huh? Wait a moment, how old is this Taira guy?" It suddenly occurred to Akashi. If what Setsuna had told him about having Taira since she was a kid was true, then… how much of an age difference did they have when they got married?_

_Setsuna laughed lightly at his question. "Seriously, Soujirou, call him uncle," then she giggled for a few moment until Akashi gave her a look of impatience. "Relax. No need to be so uptight with me. Well, I guess you are the type that dislikes to be made waiting, huh? One of the Akashi's characteristics. Very fitting. I have to admit that I'm like that as well," she continued before her chuckles receded. "He's 48 now," she answered a moment later._

"_And you are around 36…" Akashi mumbled slowly. Setsuna made a protesting noise about how he made her sound so old for mentioning her age so indelicately like that._

_So it was 12 years difference. No wonder the Akashi family forbade the relationship, not only for the status disparity, the age gap alone was already controversial. "Did he really take you away when you were 18?" he asked again, feeling rather skeptical. _

"_Yes, I was old enough to get married, so we did get married right after that, but he didn't touch me until I turned 19, even then, it was because I forced him to, since his morals and conscience wouldn't let him take advantage of me," Setsuna smiled very softly as she talked about that man. It was extremely clear that even until now, she was still very much in love with her husband._

It was true love, Akashi believed, if even until after 18 years the fire of the passion never faded from Setsuna's ruby colored eyes. He wondered if he could find that kind of love as well someday…

"_Akashi-kun."_

Akashi blinked slightly as someone's face appeared in his mind. He almost choked at the bizarre image because that boy's smiling expression came up right after he thought about some cheesy stuff like true love.

No, it wasn't because Akashi thought about him as a 'true love' candidate or anything. It was just a fleeting thought. He hadn't known that boy for long and even though he occasionally felt his heart thump faster when he was nearby, it didn't mean he had fallen for him or anything.

…

Okay, Akashi knew he was pushing it. There was a limit for being in a denial, but he just hadn't acknowledged his feelings as the real deal, because let's face it, he was still a teen… a young boy with hormones. He couldn't yet make a wise decision regarding 'love' and 'relationship' since chemistries in his brain would cloud his judgment. Physiological responses couldn't be taken as real feelings and now when he wasn't as weak as the last time he saw _that boy_, he couldn't help having second thoughts.

Really, having an outstanding logical mind could be very vexing because it interfered with Akashi's feelings and instincts. He just couldn't help the way his mind worked over things like this. He was Akashi Seijuurou. Planning and plotting were something he does on daily basis, like breathing air. Of course he couldn't just drop that habit.

"Ah, Akashi-kun!"

Akashi blinked in surprise when he truly heard a voice call him, bringing him back from his train of thought. He slowly turned around to face the owner of the voice as the boy waved at him with a cheery smile on his face.

Akashi thought his heart just thumped harder for a second, but he ignored it in favor of smiling back at the shorter brunet who had helped him a week before. "Good morning, Kouki," he greeted as Furihata arrived in front of him.

"Morning. Sorry, did you wait for long?" Furihata asked as he checked his watch, looking quite nervous now, apparently thinking that he had made Akashi wait.

"No, I just wanted to enjoy the view of the sky before you came, so I arrived earlier than our promised time. You aren't late," Akashi answered reassuringly.

"Oh, thank god. Alright then…" Furihata looked down for awhile before looking upward again. "Um, so… where do you want to go?" he asked timidly.

Honestly, Akashi felt relatively perturb at how Furihata seemed still rather wary of him even though he should know that Akashi wouldn't hurt him or anything. He thought it was odd at first because he usually encouraged such behavior on other people when they dealt with Akashi, but somehow, Akashi didn't like it when it was Furihata.

"Do you have something in mind?" Akashi asked, optioning to give the other boy a freedom of choice because he was sure that Furihata would go along with whatever Akashi wanted just to be in the safe zone, and Akashi wouldn't know what kind of boy Kouki was if he didn't see the boy decide on something by himself.

"Eh, you want me to decide?" Furihata widened his eyes, outwardly surprised.

"Yes, aren't you the one who promised me an outing a week ago to celebrate my recovery?" Akashi smirked slightly, not intending to tease him, but Furihata's cheeks turned fairly pink anyway at the remembrance.

Yep, a week ago, when Akashi had just recovered from the fever, the drugs, and everything else, he felt rather disappointed because he needed to go _home_. Furihata seemed to sense his loss even though Akashi didn't say anything, so he offered Akashi to hang out together sometimes. He gave him his cell phone number and yesterday, Akashi had called him, saying he wanted to go on an outing in Tokyo. Furihata had agreed to go with him.

"Uh… um, then, there are a lot of places in Tokyo where you can hang out with friends. Ah, but these places aren't fancy, okay? It's high school boys' level of sites after all," Furihata warned tentatively.

Akashi chuckled at his response, suddenly wanting to know everything Furihata could offer with his knowledge about entertaining him. "Do your worst."

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

Kagami and Kuroko were watching from the bushes.

Alright, Kuroko was watching and Kagami was grumbling slightly in annoyance. "Why are we here again?" he whispered while his split eyebrows twitched slightly.

Kuroko and Kagami were supposed to be on a date at this moment to make up for the cancelled date and some lost-private-times for a week now, due to a certain shorter redhead occupying Kagami's spare room. However, when Kuroko noticed Akashi standing alone and unmoving on a park ground in Ginza, he had pulled Kagami to hide behind the thick bushes -that grew quite well even in winter- around the park and started to 'watch' over the Rakuzan's captain for awhile.

"_In case Akashi-kun is still targeted,"_ was what Kuroko quietly said when Kagami complained about the sudden change of plan.

Still, nothing actually happened for a few minutes until Furihata came into the picture and Kuroko raised his eyebrow while Kagami was still muttering that they were wasting precious 'date' time and Akashi was living with him already, so he didn't want to see his face outside his apartment as well.

"Furihata-kun and Akashi-kun…?" Kuroko tilted his head aside in wonder.

"Why are you surprised? Weren't you the one setting them up in the first place?" Kagami sighed, deciding to 'glance' as well since he was quite curious about the progress of their relationship.

After all, Kagami was the one who dumped Akashi in Furihata's hands a week before. Even though it wasn't on purpose, he would like to know if his decision was right in making Furihata take care of the 'psycho'. He hoped that Akashi would consider Furihata as a friend instead of a slave.

"Yes, but it was a long shot. I did not actually think that it would work," Kuroko said, pulling back slightly to let out a small smile. "Akashi-kun needs someone observant to sense his feelings, and since I knew Furihata-kun instinctively 'knew' about us, I thought he could be the one. Though, unless there had been an extreme event that made Akashi-kun aware of Furihata-kun, I doubt it could have worked."

"Well, there was an _extreme_ accident, right?" Kagami couldn't help but point out the accident with the Akashi Family. He also raised his eyebrows at Kuroko. "With that kind of thing happening, anyone would 'see' the person who supports him unconditionally."

Kuroko blinked once, deadpanned as always, before a nice relieved smile bloomed on his adorable face. "You are right," he said pleasantly.

Kagami couldn't help his heartbeat from picking up pace after seeing that. Seriously, why was Kuroko so cute? It was bad for his heart if from now on, he saw Kuroko get even more endearing than right at this moment. His heart wouldn't be able to take it and he would do something _bad_ to satiate his hunger for Kuroko.

Kagami just couldn't help himself as he reached out and pulled Kuroko into a hug, slightly surprising the smaller boy. "Kagami-kun…?"

"I got an 'okay' to have you from Akashi, you know. I will never let you go," Kagami said surely, tightening his hug.

Kagami could feel Kuroko grip the jacket material on his back and they were silent for a minute or two before Kuroko broke it with a light chuckle. "Kagami-kun is being cheesy."

Kagami flushed red at his teasing, even though Kuroko's tone was dreary as usual. "Shut up! I'm being serious her—!" he couldn't help raising his voice in embarrassment, but Kuroko cut him off mid-rant when he pulled back noticeably only to surge upward and give Kagami a tender kiss on the lips.

Kagami closed his eyes instinctively as he felt the pair of yielding lips attack his slightly open mouth. He felt the kittenish licks and nips afterwards, raising the heat to his face because Kuroko was being exceptionally bold with his actions.

"W-wait, Kuroko…" Kagami tried to position himself better so he could kiss back, but before he could, Kuroko had released the kiss and pulled back, setting a pair of beautiful sky blue eyes on Kagami's dark red orbs meaningfully.

"But I love it when Kagami-kun is being sweet and cute," Kuroko whispered and Kagami couldn't help his face from flushing darker at the other's statement.

"Sheesh, you…!" Kagami felt burned inside and outside, totally embarrassed. It was not fair! He loved Kuroko very much. But he was kind of annoyed too that Kuroko got to tease him so easily.

Kagami didn't like to lose, remember? To remind Kuroko about that little fact, without further ado, he leaned down once again to give Kuroko a proper _deep_ loving kiss this time, effectively shutting Kuroko's up, and the master of misdirection didn't seem against the idea of making out in the open. There was no one around anyway.

Yeah well, except for Akashi and Furihata in the park.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"Let's go over there!" Furihata turned around 180 degrees away from the direction they were heading the first time. Akashi raised his left eyebrow at him, looking rather puzzled. "I think we should drink something warm before taking a walk. There is this nice café that sells good stuff in that direction," he explained while pointing to the west gate of the park, sweating profoundly as he tried to steer Akashi away from that place because…

_Damn that idiotic duo! What the hell are Kagami and Kuroko doing, making out in place like this?!_—his mind screamed in mortification as Furihata noticed the shuffling and rustling sound in the bushes. Luckily he was a few feet away from Akashi, so the taller redhead hadn't seemed aware of what happened there, but he needed to take him away before Akashi noticed as well.

Furihata didn't want to imagine what would happen if Akashi saw it. That indecent view almost burned his eyes after all. However, Akashi seemed to notice that Furihata was somewhat flustered.

"What's wrong, Kouki? Why is your face red?" Akashi asked sounding rather inquisitive.

"Eh? N-nothing! Ahaha… Let's just go over there," Furihata nervously forced a laugh, but Akashi grabbed his wrist to stop him from walking away as he pulled the boy closer to him, making Furihata yelp in a surprised "Eh?!"

Akashi leaned his face closely to Furihata's and he instinctively shut his eyes in shock and confusion when he felt Akashi's forehead on his own. "H-huh?" he blinked soon after Akashi pulled back.

"You don't seem to have a fever," Akashi said thoughtfully.

"Eh? Um… no, I… I'm fine. I don't have a fe-fever…" Furihata could feel his face heating up more and he was sure he was as red as tomato now because he thought that Akashi was about to kiss him just then.

_What the hell am I thinking?!_—Furihata berated himself for even having such an idiotic _thwarting_ idea. _Seriously, what the hell?!_

"But your face is very red," Akashi palmed one of Furihata's cheeks, and his hand felt nice and cool on Furihata's hot skin.

"T-that's because…!" Furihata stuttered. He couldn't say that he saw Kuroko and Kagami making out behind the bushes, could he? He also as sure as hell didn't want to admit that Akashi made him very uncomfortable with his too close proximity.

"Kouki…" Akashi stared at him unblinkingly and his intense mismatched eyes bore deeply into Furihata's dark chocolate ones, entrapping the shorter boy's gaze completely, seeming to seek an answer by looking straight into his soul.

Furihata's breath hitch slightly as those beautiful curious pools shifted their focus on his lips. His heart rate skyrocketed when Akashi lowered his eyelids and leaned his face even closer and he almost whimpered at the extreme high temperature he could feel rising on his face before-

"Ah, Kouki-kun!"

—the spell was immediately broken when a high pitched voice that belonged to a certain girl was suddenly heard. Furihata snapped and turned around to face the owner of that voice and brightened considerably as he saw his lovely crush approaching.

"Sasaki-chan!" Furihata called back while waving, feeling giddy suddenly.

Akashi took a step back and looked upward as well, his expression back to his neutral stoic one as the girl arrived. She pouted without delay at Furihata and then started to complain. "Jeez, I haven't heard from you in weeks after our last date! You ditched me when I was shopping, Kouki-kun!"

"Ah!" Furihata just remembered that. "I-I'm sorry, Sasaki-chan! An emergency came up and the situation was kind of hectic at that time. I forgot to tell you about it… sorry! I'm really-really sorry!" he clasped the both of his palms in front of his face, feeling very regretful.

Jeez, it completely slipped out of his mind over the past weeks. Well, Furihata was at wrong for ditching their date, but that was because Kagami abruptly handed him a blind Akashi to be escorted to safety. Because the situation was so bad, it didn't occur to him at all that he would worry Sasaki.

"Do you know how embarrassed I was after getting out the store and you weren't there? I couldn't even lift all the things I bought myself and I had to call a taxi to go home! My sister laughed at me for being ditched in the middle of a date!" Sasaki whined. Furihata could only laugh apologetically, feeling a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek.

_That's what you were upset about?!_—his mind practically dissented.

"I thought if I left you alone for awhile you'd come to your sense and apologize, but you didn't even email me afterwards. Kouki-kun, what are you thinking? Aren't you supposed to be in love with me?" Now, Sasaki sulked, demanding an answer from Furihata who stammered nervously, trying to explain, but he didn't even know how to because the matter with the Akashi's family wasn't really for him to tell.

"Ah… I really am sorry, Sasaki-chan. You see, about that…"

A cough behind Furihata saved him from having to explain, as well as reminded him that he was with Akashi at the moment, so he turned around to face Akashi who already set a critical glance at Sasaki. The wavy-black haired girl seemed to realize that they had company and turned aside to look at Akashi in surprise.

"Oh, my…! I'm sorry. I was too caught up with my own conversation that I didn't notice you're with someone. Um, Kouki-kun, he is…?" Sasaki nodded politely at Akashi and the redhead nodded back, most likely for common courtesy.

"Ah, I almost forgot. Sorry, Akashi-kun, this is Imai Sasaki, my childhood friend. Sasaki-chan, this is Akashi Seijuurou, my friend from Rakuzan High," Furihata then immediately introduced Akashi to Sasaki, and Sasaki visibly blushed as Akashi kept his unreadable stare on her.

"Um… hello, nice too meet you," Sasaki greeted Akashi while smiling shyly, and Furihata almost dropped his jaw seeing her being so quickly self-conscious.

"How do you do," Akashi greeted back albeit sounding rather cold and distant. But Sasaki seemed to regard it as a very cool gesture.

Sasaki immediately pulled the still very shocked Furihata, who was thinking that Akashi might become a love rival instantly after this, and whispered enthusiastically, "Oh my god! Kouki-kun, he's so cool and handsome! Is he a model or something?"

"Uh… no, he's… oh. Well, in a way you can call Akashi-kun a celebrity, since he appears on the news many times. He's very famous in the basketball circle," Furihata stated half-heartedly.

Akashi was ten times better than what Furihata had described, but seeing him as a potential love-rival, he didn't want to feed Sasaki's curious –totally interested— mind with more good points about Akashi, or she would really fall for him.

Sasaki was like that. All her past boyfriends were some hot-shots that just played with the girl until they were bored of her and discarded her like she was nothing. Furihata believed Akashi wasn't that kind of person, but he had decided that he would be the one to treasure her, so….

"Heeh! He plays basketball! Aww~ he must be very good at it, I presume? Since he's famous!" Sasaki's eyes sparkled and Furihata felt troubled at the eager look she gave him.

_Damn it! Why am I so weak?_—Furihata sighed deeply, feeling his resolution falter at Sasaki's hopeful gaze. She knew exactly what to do to get her way with him. It wasn't even fair.

"Yes, he's incredible, the captain of the Rakuzan High basketball team that's called the 'Emperor' for the last decade," Furihata muttered under his breath, finally giving in, even though he was still very reluctant. Sasaki immediately squealed happily and hugged him.

"I hope he's single!" she whispered near Furihata's ear keenly, looking very excited.

Furihata was about to whine that Sasaki absolutely couldn't fall for Akashi because she promised that she would be Furihata's girlfriend if Seirin became number one in Japan, but his voice was caught in his throat when he felt a sudden chill coming from behind.

Sasaki apparently felt the drop of temperature around them as well because she shivered. "Huh?" she tilted her head confusedly.

"I see… so she's your _girlfriend_, huh, _Kouki_?" the creepy venom-induced voice that dripped from Akashi's tone moments later made Furihata pale as he slowly turned around _once again_ to face the redhead, and then Furihata wished he hadn't because he could see a very frightening dark aura dance around Akashi's evilly smiling form.

_Hiiii! So scaryyyyy! Why?!_—Furihata felt his blood draining away at the mercy of Akashi's dark, toxic glare. He immediately knew that Akashi was mad. No, he was _livid_… but at what?!

Furihata was very bewildered and Sasaki already shrieked in horror as she ran away from their location, probably feeling her life threatened and extremely terrorized by Akashi's killer look, leaving Furihata frozen in his spot, unable to move his gaze away, let alone his body from Akashi's deadly dichromatic eyes. He was like a monkey being stared at by a hungry snake that was ready to attack, _literally_.

"A-A-A-Akashi-ku-kun…?!" Furihata was trembling now, not knowing what he had done to earn such rage from Akashi.

Did Furihata say something wrong? Did he somehow do something that offended the redhead in any way? Wait, just now Akashi asked whether Sasaki was his girl friend… did that mean Akashi was interested in her?!

"Break up with her," Akashi commanded icily after that and against his better judgment, Furihata protested.

"WHY?!" Furihata completely didn't understand it. Well, she wasn't even Furihata's girlfriend in the first place. But, Akashi just met Sasaki. There was no way he actually fell at first sight for her, right? This was bizarre!

Akashi narrowed his eyes at him severely and Furihata gulped, totally scared, yes, but he steeled his heart to stay strong. "I-I'd like to know the reason of _such_ a request, Akashi-kun. I can't just obey you without knowing anything, or else I will misunderstand you and I don't want to misunderstand you." He knew he was crazy for actually talking back to Akashi, but he had faith in the redhead.

Akashi was a rational person. He must have had a good reason for requesting such an outlandish thing like that.

"Anyone can see that you and her aren't meant to be," Akashi said dangerously.

Furihata frowned at his answer, not satisfied at all. "Who decides that? I like her enough to fight for her affection. I'm sure I can make her happy," he reasoned obstinately.

"No, I meant…" Akashi looked another way, looking troubled, before sighing. "She doesn't deserve you," he continued slowly.

Furihata blinked once. "Huh?" he honestly didn't expect that.

"You are too kind, Kouki. She will only use you if you persist on dating her," Akashi said again, looking slightly uncomfortable now. "I don't… want to see you get hurt."

Furihata couldn't believe this. Did Akashi just…? Was he actually concerned about him to that extent? "Akashi-kun…." Somehow, Furihata was astonished. There was a spark of warmth that blossomed inside his heart when he saw how strained Akashi looked as he told him all of that.

Akashi was definitely not used to be so truthfully direct with his words. Even though he didn't seem to be a liar, Furihata thought that the redhead was the type of guy that twisted his own words around, so his opponent wouldn't know what his real intentions were despite never lying.

Furihata smiled bashfully, feeling very happy that Akashi was worried and willing to utter his reason straightforwardly like that. But, Akashi seemed to get the wrong idea as he narrowed his eyes again. "I don't think it is a funny thing," he rebuked and Furihata cringed slightly, shaking his head vigorously in response.

"No, I don't either," Furihata replied before chuckling. "I just feel… very grateful and happy that Akashi-kun is worried about me. Thank you," he smiled more pleasantly now and Akashi seemed surprised before notably averting his gaze, rapidly looking awkward and Furihata thought that Akashi looked quite endearing at that moment.

"Then… you will break up with her," Akashi verbalized another order since it didn't sound like a request, but he did look rather hesitant.

"Sasaki-chan and I aren't a couple," at that statement, Akashi partially widened his eyes, looking very taken aback. Furihata grinned sheepishly. "Well, I do want to be her boyfriend, but someone like me is totally outside her radar, you know. I've been rejected several times, but I didn't give up because I really like her," he continued ruefully.

"Then I'm glad," Akashi said, sighing slightly.

"Um… that's pretty harsh," Furihata knew Akashi could care less about his words, but he wished the redhead would be more considerate about his feelings. Wow, this was depressing.

"She's blind for turning you down," Akashi added and Furihata looked upward speechlessly, not having seen that coming. "You deserve someone better."

"Err… I wonder…" Furihata lightly laughed, feeling that Akashi was probably right. It was clear that Sasaki wouldn't reciprocate his feelings even though Seirin did become number one in Japan. Love wasn't something that you could force upon someone after all. Maybe it was the right time to give up on her and find someone else, someone who could love Furihata as he was….

Huh? Furihata felt rather baffled at the idea. He never thought that he could let it go that easily. Ultimately, he had been crushing on Sasaki since middle school. He had confidence that he could make her happy, but… lately he thought that she might not be the one for him. She didn't seem too incline to make him happy just as much in any case.

"You can do better. My eyes don't lie," Akashi reassured and Furihata smiled warmly at him.

"Yeah, maybe I will find another nice girl to date after this," Furihata turned around and stretched his arms above his head as he started walking away.

"I don't think another girl will suit you too," Akashi muttered lowly as he followed.

"Ah, please don't jinx me!" Furihata pouted.

"I don't think anyone _but me_ will suit you."

Furihata stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the last line. He slowly turned around to face Akashi who looked back at him deeply with his sharp mismatched eyes, a faint color of pink tainting his cheeks.

"Eh?" Furihata had trouble swallowing what he just heard. He was astounded beyond belief. Did Akashi just…? Furihata gradually widened his eyes as his blood rushed up flooding the arteries and veins in his face, as he fully digested what Akashi had just said.

"Kouki… go out with me," Akashi declared, apparently more determined now after seeing Furihata's utterly peculiar response. Furihata couldn't help gawking after that when Akashi reached out to grab his hand and pulled him closer to him _again_.

"Eh, wha—? Akashi-ku—!" Furihata almost panicked, unable to comprehend what he was about to say because the only thing he could feel right at the moment was a pair of soft lips that was suddenly planted on his own and Akashi's face that was so… so enticing and attractive and holy shit! Akashi was kissing him!

"Nnh!" Furihata couldn't help making an embarrassing noise as those sinful lips moved on his, pulling and mashing deeper, teeth nipping and tongue licking insistently until he had to open his mouth and he could feel that slick wet muscle invade it. "Ah—!" he moaned at the alien, yet somehow wonderful flavor that bloomed on his taste buds right after.

Furihata didn't know what was going on afterwards. All he knew was that he was embraced so tightly and kissed so deeply until he felt bothered and dizzy since he was unable to take a single breath during the session. He could only feel how good and enjoyable it was and how talented Akashi was with his tongue, exploring inside his virgin mouth that had never been touched by anyone else before and coaching his own tongue to dance with his in passion.

By the time Furihata felt his lungs burning and screaming for air, he already felt very light headed by the amazing kiss. Akashi caught him before Furihata collapsed since his knees felt unpredictably weak. Moreover, his brain seemed to have short-circuited as his body felt so hot, like… like it was almost melting and turning into a puddle of goo.

Furihata's heart was still pounding so hard and fast that he thought it would burst out of his ribs, and his breath… it was difficult to breathe properly when his lungs were still trying to _catch_ as much oxygen as they could. Akashi didn't even give him enough time to recover as it should be when he renewed another connection with his mouth in full fervor, literally turning Furihata into a moaning mess.

At some point though, Furihata remembered that this was an insane development to the situation and he tried to push back. "Mnn! Ah, wa-_ahn_-wait! Akashi-kun! Hold on—Time out, please!"

Akashi seemed to be reluctant when he released Furihata who tried to cover (and clean) his _wet_ mouth –_courtesy of their mixed saliva_– after their heavy make out session. He was still flushing so badly and he didn't actually know what to say to this as he stammered, "W-why did you ki-kiss-…?" The teen couldn't even continue because he was on the verge of combusting.

"I figured that would be an appropriate next step after confessing," Akashi said, not releasing his confident gaze from Furihata's still spinning one.

_That's too abrupt! You don't usually do that kind of thing right after confessing!_—Furihata gaped, still thoroughly red-faced as inwardly, he was screaming in chagrin. _Where the hell did Akashi-kun learn such logic?!_

"You don't seem too thrilled," Akashi noted easily when Furihata was still completely speechless.

"A-Akashi-kun… I haven't yet given you an answer. You don't do _that_ to a person who hasn't given you an 'okay' to your confession," Furihata tried to explain even though he was kind of sure that Akashi was just messing with his brain.

"But you do _like_ me, right?" Akashi's smile seemed very genuine and Furihata's heart skipped a beat at the very attractive look. He felt like blushing again and he was sure that by the end of the day his face would be permanently red.

"Or… was that a rejection, just now?" Akashi asked again, looking somewhat downcast and discouraged.

Furihata's heart went '_kyuuuun'_ at Akashi's look and he couldn't help feeling that he wanted to hug him. Holy crap! Furihata had lost his mind completely for actually considering Akashi Seijuurou very adorable at that moment. But damn it! He was totally hooked, okay?!

"T-that's… sly…! There's no way I can turn you down…!" Furihata covered his very hot and crimson face as he said all of that, while his inner self couldn't help repeating words like '_cute, cute, cute!' _as if it was a mantra.

It was seriously unfair. Furihata had vaguely known that he was somewhat attracted to Akashi, but he didn't think that it could work. Someone like Furihata… would a perfectionist like Akashi be really alright with him? Could Furihata really live up to his expectations? Was it okay to wish that Akashi really liked him for who he was and not because he misunderstood something in his moment of weakness?

There were a lot of worry and questions inside Furihata, but damn. After getting kissed like that… by Akashi to boot…! Furthermore, Furihata kind of already admired the ex-GoM Captain for his accomplishments from afar as a fellow point guard; it was totally unreasonable to turn Akashi down, right?

"Does that mean a 'yes'?" Akashi inquired again, sounding vague. Furihata nodded timidly, still covering his face even though he could peek from the gaps of his fingers. "Do you feel pressured to accept it? Because, I'd hate it if you feel _obligated_ to say yes or something equally boring," he continued, turning somber and serious.

Furihata looked up slowly removing his hands from his face to gaze at Akashi's ardent mismatched orbs. He shook his head lightly before moving closer to Akashi once again, reaching out with both hands and encircling Akashi's sides in a gentle hug. He probably should ask permission first before doing that, invading into Akashi's personal space… _again,_ but Furihata wanted Akashi to know that he wanted this and it wasn't because he was forced to do it. Thus, he had to initiate things.

"Kouki?"

Furihata heard a slight puzzlement in Akashi's tone, and he smiled, feeling somewhat relieved when Akashi put his hands on his back. "I do want to try… being together with you, Akashi-kun," he whispered quietly, but he knew it was loud enough for Akashi to hear.

When Furihata pulled back, Akashi gave him the most pleasant smile he had ever seen in Akashi's expression. This time, it was Furihata who was very tempted, so he leaned up slowly while gazing at Akashi's lips a few times before lowering his eyelids and closing his eyes as his lips met Akashi's once more, softly, tenderly, and it felt… perfect.

It should be alright. Akashi… no, Furihata and Akashi would make it work, somehow. Even though they hardly knew each other, they could start knowing from now on… while getting closer and closer as more than just friends.

* * *

**~Akashi x Furihata~**

* * *

"Unh… I cannot believe it went so well," Kuroko commented offhandedly, seeing the way Akashi and Furihata kissed, as Kagami was still molesting his neck with his mouth in much vigor.

"Humh? What is?" The redhead didn't seem to be paying much attention to the spectacle in the park since he was busy performing indecent ministrations to Kuroko's body, marking him so possessively with his bites and sucks that Kuroko didn't know what he was doing anymore, but those felt really good.

"Akashi-kun and Furihata-kun are kissing," Kuroko informed in a gasp and Kagami instantly made a choked noise.

"Seriously?!" the _Tiger_ actually stopped to sputter, looking utterly shocked as he took a peek as well. "Uwaaa, they are really going at it," he went red before immediately looking away again, seeming to feel embarrassed.

Kuroko chuckled. "Kagami-kun is still embarrassed seeing other guys kiss despite what he has done and _is_ doing, huh? How adorable," he couldn't help teasing, glancing at Kagami, feeling rather amused despite his dull, dry tone.

Kagami visibly flushed redder. "I feel like I'm intruding!" he whined in an indignant tone. "Let's go. We should be on a date now. Forget about them already," he huffed.

Kuroko gave him a small peck on the nose, wanting to see Kagami's cute face more. "Alright," he said trying to smile as nicely as possible, and judging by Kagami's amazed look, it was positively a success.

They were trying to move away discreetly with the protection of the bushes, but some way or another, Akashi seemed to notice their presence as - "Tetsuya, Taiga," his eerie voice actually called their names, totally freezing them in their spots when they realized he really talked to them first hand. "You don't think I didn't see you, do you?"

Furihata yelped and turned scarlet in the face as he seemed to see them as well. His expression was like a deer caught in sight of a headlight. "Kagami, Kuroko! You're still there?!" he squawked, apparently already knowing that Kagami and Kuroko were there before.

Kuroko was sweating even though he didn't show it much, but Kagami was visibly paling with every second passed. "This is bad."

"You have to say that _now_!?" Kagami protested with dread. Well, it couldn't be helped since they were caught eavesdropping and peeping on Akashi Seijuurou of all people.

Akashi slightly scrutinized the pair as they obediently came out from the bush. Kuroko was feeling sheepish and Kagami looked very wary.

"Also, Daiki, Ryouta. I know you are behind the trees as well. Come out here or I'll go there and drag your butts out personally," Akashi addressed again without even turning to face the direction, but there was some rustling sounds behind the trees to his right, accompanied by some quiet bickering before a very awkward, embarrassed and disheveled Kise Ryouta and an equally disheveled but –looking more annoyed–Aomine Daiki, stepped out from their hiding place.

"Ehehe, _ossu_," Kise raised his hands and both Kagami and Furihata dropped their jaws in shock while Kuroko only widened his eyes as Akashi huffed, looking irritated.

"Aomine and Kise?!" Kagami pointed at them incredulously.

"Stop pointing at us as if we were freaks, Bakagami," Aomine scowled at him, a hint of pink on his cheeks.

"Aomine-kun, Kise-kun, why are you here?" Kuroko asked, somewhat wondering.

"Um… we're in the middle of a date…" Kise seemed still nervous even though he was smiling.

"I can see that," Akashi pointedly stared at Kise's tousled appearance and Kise (plus Aomine) noticeably winced at it, having the decency to look discomfited at least.

"No way! There are more people here?!" Furihata was outwardly horrified as his face turned a shade darker. Apparently, he didn't notice Aomine and Kise's presence there at all before.

"Let's not forget there are more nosy people that were trying to run away. Shintarou, Kazunari. I know you are here too," Akashi added wryly.

"Now way! How come you realized it?!" Takao's surprised yell came from a certain direction as his head peaked out from behind the fountain.

"Takao, you idiot!" and Midorima immediately followed out soon after, giving a chop to Takao's head.

Everyone was speechless as Midorima started to reprimand the owner of the Hawk Eyes before the green haired teen noticed that they were the center of attention and stood up, coughing lightly. "D-don't misunderstand. We were just here by pure chance. It's not like we were listening on purpose," he looked and sounded overwrought as he pushed his glasses up, but since his face turned pink, it was kind of cute.

"Shin-chan is lying! He said he really wanted to come here for our date!" Takao wailed childishly.

"Shut up, Takao!" Midorima scolded him again, looking interestingly mortified at the tactless act of his boyfriend.

"They are hopeless…" Kagami commented; sweat dropping while the others silently agreed. Though, Kuroko considered this rather funny.

"It would not be strange if Murasakibara-kun and Himuro-san are here as well, huh? What a peculiar twist of fate," Kuroko shook his head as a startled 'Ah,' from the direction of the park monument was heard.

Everyone went silent and wide eyed at that, except Akashi who solely raised his eyebrow and Kuroko who only blinked.

"Muro-chin, we were caught." It was Murasakibara's voice and a deep sigh followed right after as an abnormally tall boy and his slightly shorter dark haired companion stepped out from behind the monument, revealing their selves.

"Good morning," Himuro greeted with a calm smile, even though Kuroko could see a hint of discomfort in his expression. "It's a surprise to see all of you here." Apparently, he was still trying to save their cover even though it was clear that they were eavesdropping on Akashi and Furihata as well, just like the rest of the GoM members and their partners.

Akashi chuckled lightly at the futile attempt while Furihata was on the verge of passing out in shame when he seemed to realize that a LOT of people had seen him and Akashi kissing just a moment ago. He was covering his face again with both hands now.

"Really, you guys. You don't have to be so concerned about me," Akashi said as he pulled Furihata closer, causing Furihata to yelp slightly.

"Actually, we are more worried about that guy you're currently holding, Akashi," Aomine was surprisingly the one who brought up the subject despite the amount of sweat trickling down his cheeks, and it was winter. People do not sweat in winter, right?

"There's nothing to worry about. We're very good together," Akashi didn't seem hesitate as he encircled Furihata's neck and hugged him closer and Furihata was already steaming in total embarrassment.

"Akashi-kun, Furihata-kun will be _cooked_ if you continue snuggling him like that in front of everyone," Kuroko pointed out dully.

"Ah," Akashi seemed to realize that as he loosened his hold slightly. "Sorry, did I hug too tightly, Kouki?" he asked with a gentle voice and smile at the _almost _fainting Kouki while the others were about to crack at the scene.

"W-who is that host over there?" Kagami couldn't help pointing with trembling hands, looking completely traumatized.

"A-Akashi-chi turns into a lady (gentleman) killer…!" Kise seemed to be as disturbed as Kagami was at the view.

"Is that really Akashi?" Aomine gaped.

"It is Akashi-kun, alright," Kuroko smiled amusedly and Takao gawked while Midorima almost broke his glasses. Himuro was visibly speechless as Murasakibara raised his eyebrows very high.

"Well, I guess once in awhile, all of us can win, right, Tetsuya?" Akashi gave him a peculiar look and smirk while still holding Furihata possessively. Kuroko blinked slightly in surprise before smiling again.

"Signal, received, Akashi-kun… Signal, received."

**End of Signal: Epilogue**

* * *

**A/N:** Uwoooh! XD Finally I finished the epilog~ *dance happily* and I did before the end of the year! Yes! Now I can concentrate on my unfinished fics and probably starts to work on Nuramago fics once again while waiting for Kurobasu anime 2nd season to air~ *more dances*

Hah… it's a long way… finishing this supposed to be mini-series. I didn't think it will turn into nine chapters… ten including the epilog, even with the word count…. I'm so glad I can close the **Finding GoM Matching Partner Series **with the end of **Signal**, but I'm kind of sad as well to have to part with this baby of mine *sniffs*. I wish I could make something better even though I'm quite satisfied with this. Thank you very much for all of the readers that read and follow the series and this fic till the end. Your support by reviewing, faving and alerting this story gave me the courage to continue this story despite the 'rare' choice of pair like Aka/Furi. Ha, I grow really fond of this cute pair just after I wrote this fic even though at first I was only curious how this pair would work. The other pairs are very interesting and fun to write as well, it's amazing! XD

Also, special thanks and hugs and cookies for **Tora-chan83 **who helped me beta and edit this story till the end. You don't know how much grateful I am to you because I probably would never get this fic done this splendidly without you around to correct my mistakes which were A LOT (I presume). Anyway, you are the best and if it's okay with you, I'd like to ask for your help again when I decide to make another fic for Kurobasu. I'll email you if the idea strikes~3.

Last but not least, this fic is probably the last fic I finished in 2012, but I still have a lot of projects to finish, so all of you, readers, can still see me in the other stories (if you read them *lol*). Ah, and as the end-year bonus, I'll present you an omake for this story. Jaa!

* * *

**~Omake 1~**

_**The reason why Kagami's dad doesn't show up in the end**_

* * *

**Akashi:** "In the end, even though Taira's name is often mentioned in here, he never once shows up, huh? What's the deal, Taiga?" *raises eyebrows*

**Kagami: **"Who knows? Maybe the author doesn't know how to fit him in this story." *doesn't care and Author winces*

**Kuroko:** "Well, I kinda wonder how he looks." *tilts his head aside cutely*

**Setsuna:** "He looks just like Taiga, but with brown hair and eyes and a nicer personality!" *totally excited*

**Kagami:** "A little bit like Kiyoshi-senpai, I think…?" *not sure*

**Kuroko: **"Even his quirks?" *surprised*

**Kagami: **"Except for the quirks." *sweat drops*

**Setsuna: **"Wasn't he supposed to show up as soon as the winter break starts?" *pouts*

**Kagami: **"I bet the author just forgot." *stares accusingly*

**Author: **"Oh, shut up! I tried to bring him out once, but the story got so very complicated and I want to make it simple, okay?! Give me a break!" *totally embarrassed*

**Taira:** "My screen time…" *cries pitifully*

**Kuroko: **"Maybe author-san will make another story so she can bring him up sometimes." *states dully*

**Author: **Kuroko-kun! You can't say something like that! That will sound like I promise the readers, right?!" *panics*

**Akashi: **"I don't think the readers want to see him at all." *dryly comments*

**Luna and Taira:** _DEMON!_

_**END**_

**(A/N:** yah, so you know the reason why now… *feels rather guilty*)

* * *

**~Omake 2~**

_**In which there's a twist and readers shouldn't read this if they want this story to stay light**_

* * *

In a certain average looking house in Tokyo, a telephone was ringing in the dim living room.

_Trr, trr, trr._

_*click*_

"Hello." A slender boy answered the wireless phone.

"_Hey."_

He raised his eyebrows as he heard the familiar voice. "Soujirou-kun?" he sounded surprised as he mentioned the name. "Why are you calling?"

"_Ah, I'm just checking up to see if everything is going smoothly there. And I'm bored, you know, getting trapped in this place,"—_Soujirou whined from the phone and the boy chuckled.

"What are you saying? Is it not a part of the deal? You did get what you wish for, right?" the boy asked, sounding rather amused himself.

"_Yeah, well… that's true."_—There was a weighty silence for a few moments before Soujirou spoke again. _"But, really… he doesn't suspect a thing, huh? That you pulled some strings in our lives like a puppeteer. The accident in middle school… and the fact that you pulled away from that group to set some 'doubts' in my beloved Sei-nii's mind…. I can't believe you actually managed to break the Akashi Family's doctrines through him. It's… amazing. You truly are… a shadow master,"—_he exhaled a shuddering breath as he said it.

The boy's mouth turned up slightly, a nice smile plastered on his face. "I do not know what you are talking about, Soujirou-kun. I merely showed some facts and some ways to some people. I never actually did anything at all," he said politely.

"_Playing dumb again, sheesh… You are seriously a wicked person, __**Kuroko Tetsuya**__."_

Kuroko's smile widened a fraction even though no one would see it with his mastered poker face. He did smile, though. "I humbly accept the compliment," he said flatly while sitting relaxingly on the couch. "But, Soujirou, you sound happier now. I am glad that Akashi-kun can accept you as a brother after all of this."

"_Ha, that would be deadly true. Thanks… for hearing my request all those years ago. It took some time… but Sei-nii finally sees me as a brother now,"_—Soujirou sounded relieved.

"Good for you, then," Kuroko said before Soujirou said good bye and hung up.

Kuroko pushed the end-call button and put the phone back on its receiver before he sighed and closed his eyes, resting his back on the backrest of the couch. He stayed like that for a minute or two before opening his eyes again to set a confident look in his expression. "Now… what request should I take this time?"

"_I probably… fell in love with Kise, Tetsu. That idiot just won't see it."_

"_Shin-chan needs someone to take care of him. Can I be the one to go for that task?"_

"_Taiga is officially yours, but I want something in return… like maybe Atsushi, for example?"_

"_Akashi Seijuurou's attention, I want it."_

Kuroko chuckled as he remembered some requests that paralleled Soujirou's when he was in the middle of making it true. Really, there were such long and difficult tasks. However, it was better since he and Kagami would get a lot of fun as the result.

"Basketball in high school will become more and more interesting from now on…"

_**END**_

(**A/N:** This is atrociously hideous. Why did I even make such twisted omake? *sweats* Don't mind this omake. I just wanted to try to make Kuroko the true shadow master for all of things that happened in this series…along with me, of course *dies laughing*)

**HAPPY HOLIDAY AND NEW YEARS!**


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